The Tale of the White Fang
by Ceies
Summary: He'd always put his comrades first. One day, they'll call him a traitor for it. But he'd known that all along. Before they called him traitor, they called him hero. This is the life and the legend of the White Fang.
1. The Hitai-Ate of Konohagakure

Hey,

This is my first Fanfiction both in the Naruto-universe and originally written in english. I spent weeks browsing the Internet for good Sakumo-stories ... What do I have to find out? There's almost nothing - though I did find some gems. So, what do you do when you find nothing? Write your own!

So this is mine.

Honestly, I don't yet know where to go with it ... or rather, I want to stick to the canon as much as possible, but my heart aches everytime I just think about writing Sakumo's death. So ... let's wait and see how this ends.

Rating is T (for now: for mild cursing and canon typical violence, also just pro forma, although this is much later, and I'm not sure if I actually go that route yet, there's a suicide trigger warning.)

Genre: Drama, Action. Some Aventure, Family and mild Romance in between. Also a bit of Angst, I assume.

Characters: Sakumo Hatake, Kagami Uchiha, Inoichi Yamanaka, Shikaku Nara, Choza Akimichi, Hiruzen Sarutobi, Jiraiya, Tsunade, Orochimaru, Might Dai, Danzo and many others. (Later on of course also Kid-Kakashi)

OC's: I prefer using Canon Characters wherever possible, but there also are a decent number of OC's where I had to fill a void. (Most notably Sakumo's wife and family)

Updating Schedule: I try to update every week on Thursday or Friday.

 **Beta: This story is in the process of being beta-read by Writer's Obsession.**

 ***~/~***

 **Sakumo Hatake - The Tale of the White Fang**  
 **The Hitai-Ate of Konohagakure**

Sakumo Hatake was five years old when he first entered the newly found Academy. Years later the only thing he'd still remember from those first days would probably be how thoroughly unfair he had thought it was. He had spent all those five years prior to visiting the Academy learning the Ninja Arts from his father, his mother and grandfather, the same way his brother had learned them, and the way his parents and his ancestors had learned them from their parents. He was five years old and he thought he was surely on par with all those young Genin of Konohagakure.

Up until then it had been common practice to present the young children aged six to eight to a group of Konoha's Jonin and the Hokage to show off their skills and be rewarded with the Hitai-ate, the forehead protector of Konohagakure to forthwith carry the rank of Genin and Shinobi of the Hidden Leaf. That had been the common practice for as long as anyone remembered – even before the villages had been founded, though of course back then there was no Jonin-council and no Hokage and the kids would just be sent to fight without a real evaluation of their skill.

Only four years prior his own elder brother had been made Genin at age six just like that. Of course, Sakumo didn't remember, he'd been only one year old after all, but he knew it had happened that way.

Now, he was five years old and like all children from the Clans of the Hidden Leaf he'd just been waiting for his sixth birthday to be finally made a Shinobi, too. Because for a young child finally becoming a Genin was the first step to their dreams coming true, to become the renowned heroes they all wanted to be, to fight and protect Konoha, its people and their comrades.

But he had no such luck and he thought it was just unfair. For, when he turned five, the Shodaime Hokage had died and his brother Tobirama Senju, the second Hokage, for all the obligations he had as a Hokage, for all the wars he had to fight, for all the Shinobi he had to lead, still made it his first priority to build an Academy for children agedsix to twelve to enter and learn what it meant to be a Shinobi. It was unfair, because Sakumo was as good if not better as his brother had been, when he had been given his Hitai-ate. However Sakumo would not just get the Hitai-ate. He'd have to visit that blasted school first.

His parents made him enter the Academy at age five, because they had gone to war and his old grandfather had grown too frail to train him anymore. So, for them the Academy was probably a godsent. For him however ... Trained to become a Genin at six, now made to sit in school with children his age of whom many had been born to civilian parents and didn't know the first thing about chakra control.

Of course, he was not the only one who suffered that injustice. There were Hyuuga and Uchiha and Yamanaka and Nara and many others in his year who probably thought just like him how unfair all of this was.

However, he was young and a prodigy despite his youth and he felt that he more than anyone deserved to become a Genin. So, at first, he thought this Academy only really existed to annoy him personally. The Academy was a great thing – for civilians who wanted to become Shinobi or for orphans who had nobody else to train them in their early years – not for him.

At his first day in school it was one of those days for celebration. They celebrated the foundry of the Academy with food and drink and speeches. And back then he had thought, maybe, the Nidaime Hokage would explain himself to them, would tell him his reasons why he would so unfairly hinder Sakumo from becoming a Genin the same way his brother had.

He had been wrong. There were speeches, of course. But Tobirama Senju was not a talker, not a man of many words. He sat quietly throughout the ceremony and the only one who spoke who was not soon to be Sakumo's teacher was Hiruzen Sarutobi. And while the Sarutobi spoke, the Hokage kept quiet, arms crossed in front of his chest and with a solemn glare as if in his mind he was already somewhere else entirely.

Mother told Sakumo that he shouldn't be mad at the Hokage for seeming so absent because the man was still mourning his late brother, but Tobirama Senju didn't look like a man in grief.

As the new Hokage in times of war he had other duties to think about, his father said.

Hiruzen Sarutobi spoke of the Will of Fire. A belief, that the village was like a big family and that every Shinobi of the Hidden Leaf would fight for the village, its people and its Shinobi the way one fought for his actual family. That they'd love and protect and respect each other. It was that what made them powerful, what made Konoha the place it was, he said. Peace through love … It was the one thing of many things spoken that day. Something Sakumo Hatake would forever keep in mind.

Later, in the Academy, they didn't talk much about the Will of Fire. The last years of the Great Shinobi War raged on bloody and cruel and nobody had time to preach to the children about 'peace through love'. Instead, they learned the duties of the Shinobi, the rules they had to live by. The same rules his family already lived by and died for for generations:

A shinobi must always put the mission first.

A shinobi must never show their tears.

A shinobi must follow their commander's instructions.

A shinobi must never show any weakness.

Soon, he was six years old and he wondered where in all of this the 'Will of Fire' fit in.

The Academy wanted to keep him there for six years and he thought it was just a big waste of his time, and everyone else's. He was sure he already had the necessary knowledge. Soon, he'd be good enough to make it to Chunin, but instead he was wasting away in the Academy.

Later, he'd find out it wasn't quite as bad. If you had talent, if you were a genius, and especially in times of war, there was always need for young shinobi, and there was a possibility to skip classes and finish Academy early. In his case all three conditions were met. The great war was over, but there was always conflict and never peace. He was a genius beyond his age. And after mastering Raiton, he already learned his second element: Doton. He's special, but he's not the only one.

He was eight years old when he was first given the chance to take the Graduation Exams early. He and three others from his class. They were ready and by now they knew more about the basics, about chakra manipulation, about weapons and strategy than any Genin had known before them. Arrogantly, he thought they already had the knowhow to become Chunin, not just Genin.

For all four of them it was a surprise when Tobirama Senju invited them to talk. He hadn't lost a word at their enrolment into the Academy, but he wanted to talk to them before they'd finally leave it. Sakumo had never heard the man speak and had been sure he didn't like to talk to people. He was Hokage but compared to his brother Tobirama was a rather private person.

The Hokage told them about his late brother's dreams. About a world in which children would never die in battles again, would never fight in the wars of previous generations. He told them, if they were to become Genin, he'd treat them as such and send them to the battlefield as shinobi of the Hidden Leaf. He wouldn't disallow their participation at the Exams, because all of them had the abilities despite their age, but his brother had built this village so that kids like them could be just that: kids. So, they could be children before they were made soldiers.

Tobirama Senju was not a good speaker. He didn't share his brother's famous talent or his childish excitement or spirit or wisdom. Even young Hiruzen Sarutobi or Sakumo's old grandfather were better talkers. Maybe that was the reason none of Sakumo's classmates listened to him. Maybe, it was the fact, that all of them felt insulted to be called children, or they were just so ready to go to war – had been ready for years, really. Still, in Tobirama's words was a seriousness and logic that at least Sakumo couldn't argue against. So, he decided to wait another year and maybe the Academy wasn't quite that bad of an idea.

There was no stopping his three classmates, though. They graduated this year – the first graduates from the Academy ever – and the next year they were sent to war and two of them would not come back.

He was nine years old when his brother died. Or rather...He didn't exactly know for certain if he was dead or not. His brother's commander and Sensei, Shimura Danzo, a renown shinobi and a potential candidate to become the next Hokage, had left his brother behind in enemy territory, wounded and weakened but not dead. They had a mission to complete. He died for the village, for the mission. He was a hero. Everybody said so, and nobody seemed to fault Danzo for leaving his brother behind.

Sakumo cried hot tears when he heard about his brother's death and again at the funeral with an empty casket. His mother was distraught, crying to the heavens. His strong mother, who never cried. His father's face was drawn and pale and his sister … maybe she didn't understand, she was only barely three, after all. Yet, nobody blamed Danzo, not even his parents did, because Danzo had followed the rules.

Sakumo, of course, knew the rules too, yet still, he was angry, hated the rules. He didn't understand. Where was the Will of Fire? Weren't they all family? Then that meant they were all siblings and Sakumo would not leave a sibling behind. That was what it meant to be family, he thought, to fight for each other and to not just abandon them. Sakumo knew his place and understood the rules, but the thought, that nobody had turned around to save his brother or just bring his body back home … it left him just so bitter.

This year, when he was given the choice to graduate, he remembered the Hokage's words and he was still bitter, so he didn't participate at the exams again. He was more than ready – in terms of skill, he had been for years. But now, he had a depressed mother at home who never quite moved on from her son's death, a little sister, too young to care for herself, an old grandfather, old and frail and dying, and an absent father who still fought in war no matter how war-worn he was.

He still remembered the Hokage's words, if he were to become a Genin he'd be sent to fight and then, who'd be left at home to care for his family? So, he chose his duty to his family over his duty to his village. He was only nine years old and as long as his father still represented the Hatake Clan for Konoha on the battlefield, Sakumo's duty to his village didn't weigh quite as heavy.

With ten years, however, there was no excuse. His grandfather had died. Konoha needed more shinobi. His father had returned from the battlefield injured badly enough that he would never be able to fight again, but not quite bad enough that he couldn't take care for his family. So, there was no Hatake left to represent their Clan in Konoha's service. Sakumo knew then, that it was his duty to take up that role. His duty to his village, but also to his grandparents and parents and his brother who had all sacrificed so much for this village.

He registered his name for the Academy's Graduation Exams and nobody even tried to stop him. Tobirama Senju had died one year prior and the new Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, desperately needed new shinobi to fill up the ranks. Sakumo was by far not the youngest to graduate this year, but he was top of the class. They told him, if he kept this up, he'd be Chunin in no time.

He was put into a four-man-squad. A sensei and two fellow Genin from his graduation class:

Uchiha Yashiro had just turned nine years old and knew the rules of the shinobi inside out. He was like a walking, talking rule book. Sakumo wondered, whether Yashiro Uchiha had ever actually been a child and he remembered that five years prior, Sakumo had been the same, before the Nidaime Hokage had offered him to enjoy his childhood. Yashiro was nine years old and proud as all of them to tie the Konoha Hitai-ate around his forehead and Sakumo was sure he was more than willing to give his life for Konoha. He had never been a child. Sakumo silently mused, whether he himself had ever actually been a child, even if he had tried to. Every time he watched civilian children play, he realized how different they were. Shinobi children were harder, colder, more serious ... Yet Sakumo was not quite as hard, cold and serious as Yashiro.

Then there was Akane, who had lost her civilian parents to war. She had blonde hair and red eyes. He assumed she was named after her eyes – Akane meant 'dark red'. She was twelve years old and absolute average. He also assumed it made an enormous difference in skill whether someone had a Clan or parents to train with or whether the Academy lessons were all the knowledge one had. Akane knew the basics but compared to Yashiro who was about to perfect his Katon and had Chakra reserves that made most adult shinobi blush, who'd soon activate his Sharingan, and Sakumo who already knew two elements, learned his third and was proficient with the sword his father had passed down to him, Akane didn't even know her chakra affinity.

Their Sensei was one Kagami Uchiha. A friend to the Hokage, and a trusted companion to the Nidaime, Kagami was one of those legendary shinobi you'd would look up to for your entire life. Even long after their death, after meeting stronger shinobi, and even after your own legend outshines them.


	2. A Sensei's Duty

**A Sensei's Duty**

Sakumo, Akane and Yashiro worked good as a team, even if they never became best friends. Sakumo was the most talented out of the three, though Yashiro with his Sharingan liked to say otherwise. But with or without Sharingan, Yashiro was no match for the Hatake. He was just too slow. That was something they realized early on in their training fights. Yashiro with his Sharingan was able to see his movement, was even able to predict them, but it didn't help him one bit when his body just couldn't keep up.

Kagami-Sensei told him so several times. His Sharingan was no magical all-powerful weapon; Yashiro would have to train his body. But Yashiro was too stubborn and too proud. He'd just snort and keep training his Uchiha-skills, his Kekkei Genkai and his Katon and thus never be able to keep up with Sakumo. Kagami was different. He had his Sharingan, but even without that he was an exceptional shinobi.

"If you want to, we can train our speed after the mission," Akane would propose almost every day. But Yashiro had no interest in taking her up on her offer. He was a terrible mix of being arrogant, proud, and stubborn. He would not relent that someone of a minor Clan was better than him, even less that he'd have to train with a daughter of civilians with no Clan name of her own, to keep up with the Hatake. It didn't matter that Sakumo was literally running circles around him, Yashiro kept to himself, and wouldn't take anybody's help.

Katon was slower than Raiton and Sakumo was the greatest Raiton-talent the village had probably seen for generations. Even with the mighty Sharingan and the big Chakra reserves of the Uchiha and with a Sensei, who should be all but perfect for Yashiro as he was an Uchiha himself and a whole Clan at his disposal to teach him new tricks … Sakumo was too fast, too deadly, too effective. He could kill Yashiro five times before the man had even finished the hand signs for his Fire-Jutsu. And even the Sharingan's Genjutsu wouldn't help him, because once Sakumo found out about it he had trained his other senses into perfection so that his ears and even his nose got sharp enough that he could fight Yashiro with closed eyes – and the Sharingan needed eye contact.

Yashiro was a good shinobi – but for an Uchiha he was almost average. And that was not enough to make Sakumo even sweat.

Akane got better with time. After Yashiro had refused to train with her for the umptieth time, Sakumo had offered to train with her instead and Akane had gladly accepted. They got along well. She had discovered that her affinity was Doton and Sakumo already knew a bit about Doton, so they helped each other and Kagami supported their extra training with tips and tricks. Kagami himself didn't know Doton, but he had enough friends to help out. Sometimes Kagami would offer them to fight him two on one or three on one when Yashiro was willing to participate.

Kagami was truly exceptional. With all his speed and skill with the Hatake-Chakrasword and all his Ninjutsu ... He didn't even come close to Kagami's level of skill.

"You're still young," Kagami kept saying. "One day you'll outclass me."

Whenever he said that, Sakumo would nervously scratch his head. For all his arrogance and genius, Sakumo was easily flattered. Akane would grin proudly but look at Sakumo, as if she was already very aware, that of all of them the only one to ever come close to Kagami's level of expertise would be Sakumo. And Yashiro … Yashiro would snort and cross his arms over his chest and say nothing.

Their teammate hated their team matches as he always thought Kagami was giving away too many secrets. He also hated it when Kagami told them Sakumo might one day outclass him. For all his personal dislike he had for their Sensei for being 'disloyal to their Clan' he admired him for the powerful Uchiha he was. Kagami was said to be a genius among the Uchiha, one of the most formidable in their clan since Madara himself. Yashiro didn't make it a secret that he thought it was insulting and ridiculous to assume a non-Uchiha could ever become as strong or even stronger than Kagami.

Even Sakumo thought that unlikely. He knew he was good, but he didn't see how he'd ever truly catch up to his Sensei. He admired Kagami-Sensei the way a Genin-child could only ever admire their first Sensei. He also didn't know why Kagami would even want to be surpassed by his students. Sakumo was the best in his year and proud of it, and although he had no problem helping his comrades getting stronger, he had no interest whatsoever in anybody ever surpassing him. Sure, he helped Akane, but he didn't think she'd ever get stronger than him and even if she did it would simply be another reason for him to train even harder.

He was eleven years old and Kagami-Sensei had registered their names for the Chunin exams. They were sitting in a small Dango shop eating dumplings. Yashiro was frowning because he didn't like sweets. Sakumo wasn't a big fan of sweet things himself, but Kagami and Akane loved them. It had been her choice to go here.

Kagami was ruffling his silvery white hair and at the same time trying to coax Yashiro to try one of the dumplings, when Sakumo asked him about that.

"You know, it's not that difficult," Kagami-Sensei said and looked between his three Genin-students. "I'm your Sensei so it's my duty to teach you to the best of my knowledge. If I'll do a good enough job for you to get even stronger than me ... Well, it's a job well done then." He laughed and chewed one of the dumplings. "You know I have high hopes for my sweet, little students." He was grinning and hitting Yashiro a bit hard on the shoulder. The younger Uchiha was pouting a bit at that. "One day you'll be full-fledged Jonin and have your own teams or even your own students. If maybe you're famous and legendary shinobi yourselves – perhaps the best of your time – then I'll be so proud of you." Sakumo was frowning at that and not for the first time thinking that his Sensei loved to exaggerate a little. "The most important thing in a shinobi's life is not their own strength, but what they leave to the next generations. Their legacy, so to say. Besides my son and whatever family he'll have, you three are my legacy. My tiny, little students. One day you and the other kids of your generation will lead Konohagakure into the future and you'll have students of your own and you'll be responsible for protecting this great family that is our village with everything you have. It's my job to prepare you for that time the best I can, to make you as strong as you can possibly become."

"We're already shinobi," grumbled Sakumo, a bit annoyed at his Sensei's excitement but also grinning a bit at his Sensei's words. "We're already able to protect Konoha."

"Sure, sure," reassured Kagami, patting his head and ruffling through his hair. Properly annoyed, Sakumo tried to free his hair. There was something in Kagami's eyes and Sakumo knew then, that Kagami still saw them as children. Shinobi, yes, but still kids. "But you're still the next generation. And I'm here to make sure that you'll be able to lead the generation after yours."

Yashiro and Sakumo were both frowning, but then they nodded almost simultaneously. His Sensei Kagami thought it was his first duty to protect them ... He wondered if Danzo still would have left his brother behind if he'd acted with the same principle. Or was there something else he didn't quite understand yet?

"Anyway, that aside I can't exactly let Hiruzen's students take all the spot light," Kagami added while grinning broadly.

"But Tsunade-san is a Senju," cried Akane. "And I've heard Jiraiya-san is trying to learn some powerful new Jutsu … Something the first Hokage had been able to use. And Orochimaru … Well they say that he's probably next in line to be Hokage."

"Senjutsu," nodded Kagami. "Yes, those three have a bit of a lead on you." He smiled. "But don't think just because you've been at the Academy and they haven't, you're in a worse position. We have a talented Uchiha here," he smiled at Yashiro. "And Sakumo is top of his class." He looked at Akane last. "You just need to decide what you want to do, and you can be great, too."

"I'll never catch up," Akane disagreed forlornly. "It's just unfair. Sakumo was already able to use two elements before he even became Genin and Yashiro has the Sharingan ... And ..."

"Well, you have talent. You just need to decide what to do with it," interrupted Kagami-Sensei.

She looked a little surprised at that, so Kagami shrugged and clarified. "You know, you're really good at everything you try. But almost every other Genin of your age has already decided on a specialty. Something where they are exceptional. Clan-techniques are nothing different. It's not like the Inuzuka or whoever are all powerful, they just learned how to be irreplaceable trackers. You could do the same. You just need to decide on a specialty."

Akane seemed to think for a while. "I ... But it all seems so useless. Even if I start training my tracking-skills now, I'll never be better than an Inuzuka or the Aburame. I can't even keep up with Sakumo's nose. And the Sharingan will always be better with Genjutsu so… I just wished I had a Clan that could have taught me something special."

"You know, there's no specific Ninja Art passed along in my family, right?" said Sakumo frowning. "We don't have a Kekkei Genkai or even a Hidden Jutsu. We just train what we're good at. Sure, there are certain talents. We're fast, we have Raiton affinity and we learn how to fight with the Tanto … But none of that is really exclusive."

Akane stared for a moment, then she started grinning. "Alright … I- I think I want to focus on my Doton. Sakumo-san and Kagami-Sensei have already helped so much with that." She winked at them. Sakumo blushed a little. "And … Maybe … I think I might be good at ..." She seemed suddenly nervous. "I think I could be a sensor."

Yashiro snorted at that. "Why? Me with my Sharingan and everyone with a Byakugan will probably always be better at that. Not to mention all those Yamanaka-sensors." He crossed his arms.

Kagami glowered at him for a moment. "No, I think it's a great idea." He clapped his hands and seemed very excited suddenly. "You remember the Nidaime Hokage? He was one of the best sensors I've ever seen. Probably one of the best in history. And he didn't use a Kekkei Genkai or a Hidden technique. I could try to teach you the way he did it. Sure, he had more chakra than you, a lot more than any of us in fact, but with that he was able to feel chakra all over the world. With your chakra, you should still be great."

Akane was beaming at that.

Sakumo made Chunin three weeks later.


	3. Team Kagami

**Team Kagami**

One year after Sakumo, his two teammates made Chunin as well. From that point onwards they were no Genin-Team anymore, but they remained Team Kagami.

Kagami wasn't just their Sensei now, he was also their commander, but he still trained them and mostly treated them like his cute little students.

Their teamwork was great. Akane had become an exceptional long-distance Doton-user. And a very good Sensor. She'd put her hands on the ground and feel the vibrations in the earth, and no one would ever be able to sneak up on them as long as she was there. Her Doton had such good range that she was able to stall entire opposing armies for just a few minutes, vital minutes for the rest of their team to deal with their enemies bit by bit. She hardly even participated in the actual fighting instead keeping her focus on the enemy's support-teams and stalling them as much as necessary. With the Nidaime Hokage's sensing technique she was able to cover the area for miles around them, and for a radius of a few hundred meters there wasn't an ant she wouldn't sense. Even the Uchiha's Sharingan or the Hyuuga's Byakugan were soon outmatched. No matter whether an enemy had chakra or not, if they weren't able to fly, there was no way she wouldn't sense them miles in advance.

So, she took care of their defence and watched out for their backs, while Sakumo and Yashiro dispatched the enemies around them.

Yashiro used his Sharingan and his destructive Katon techniques to clear whole armies of mediocre opponents in one attacks, dishing out massive techniques that he could only ever keep up thanks to his vast inherent chakra reserves.

And Sakumo kept to what he did best. He didn't use massive techniques, he had a few Ninjutsu and three elements by now, but he lacked the chakra to do the same damage Yashiro could do. Instead, he mostly fought with his Tanto, his family's white chakra blade. He was fast, deadly and efficient. Able to make himself even faster with his Raiton chakra. He wasn't as strong or as heavy or as persistent as many of his opponents were, but he was slowly becoming one of the most deadly shinobi Konoha had to offer. What was the worth in strength or persistence or even sheer endless chakra reserves, if he could cut through his enemies like carving a cake.

Still, there were those enemies he couldn't defeat. He was still young, still gaining experience and out there were shinobi far superior to him. But they still had Kagami, their Team Captain, a living legend.

They were a good team, but their reputation couldn't quite hold up to Hiruzen Sarutobi's team. Orochimaru, Tsunade and Jiraiya were simply … flashier. Jiraiya loud and obnoxious and one of Sakumo's best friends, who was able to use Sen-Jutsu. Tsunade, a descendent of the first Hokage, a promising medic, strong as an ox and with quite the temper. And Orochimaru, a genius beyond his age … the making of a Hokage, some said. They were the students of the Hokage, who himself had been the student of a Hokage and was hailed as 'God of the Shinobi', a title once held by the first Hokage.

In comparison their team just … paled. Not in achievement, as they were just as successful, but surely in reputation. They had a Sensor, one of the best in the village, who tried to remain hidden during a fight to support her team the best she could, instead of running straight for the hottest action. They had an Uchiha, whose abilities compared to other Uchiha were mediocre at best and only worked so well, because he worked so perfectly with the team. And Sakumo, who was a genius and perfect in everything he did, but whatever it was he was doing, there were a thousand others who could do the same thing, if not quite as good. After all, he had no special ability. Even their sensei, the living legend, was not the Hokage nor the student of a Hokage.

They weren't special because what they did was exceptional, unique or great, they were special because whatever they did, they were effective, successful and deadly. The difference between Team Kagami and Team Hiruzen was palpable in their summons: Team Hiruzen summoned giant beasts to the battlefield, greater than life, more powerful than most Jonin in the village. Soon, they'd be famous for it: The Three-Way Deadlock. The only summons in Team Kagami were Sakumo's ninja-hounds. The biggest of them barely tall enough to reach to a grown man's navel. Great for tracking, great for espionage … not suited for fighting. Still, in strength and success, their teams were pretty much on par.

Just their reputation lacked a bit behind.

That was, until Sakumo turned seventeen. His parents had died a few years prior. His mom had stopped eating and then turned horribly sick. His father a victim of a fever epidemic. He and his sister, a eleven year-old Genin, were the only remains of a once small but proud clan. He had made Jonin at age 15, led his first team at age 16, and now with 17 he'd make a name for himself. He didn't know it quite yet.

Like always, they were in a conflict with Iwagakure. Iwa seemed ready for war but Konoha was not. In general, they probably had the forces and the manpower … But they were still weary from years of fighting and at the moment, if a war was to break out, they all knew, Kirigakure and Kumogakure would use the chance and fall upon the Land of Fire. War had to be prevented. At all cost or it probably would be the end of the Leaf.

Iwagakure had violated the borders to Ame in an attempt to further their territory. Ame had asked for help, to uphold the peace treaty signed after the first great war. Hanzo the Salamander, the new leader of the Land of Rain asked neighbouring powers Suna and Konoha for support to throw back Iwagakure. It was a difficult political situation. Not answering the call to arms would be an abandonment of the peace treaty, sending too little troupes would just be inviting Iwagakure to massacre them, sending to many would be to invite Kiri and Kumo to fall into their backs. One wrong step and somebody would declare war.

The Hokage sent his former teammate and trusted advisor Homura to deal with the situation. With him the head of the Nara-Clan as Chief-Strategist and the 13th generation of Ino-Shika-Cho, and Orochimaru leading his teammates into battle.

Not long after the troops were dispatched, Homura sent massage that the Tsuchikage himself was among the attackers. Even between Ino-Shika-Cho, Orochimaru's team and whatever troops Suna had sent, there was no stopping Iwa. The Hokage himself moved towards Ame to stop the Tsuchikage leaving the government affairs in Danzo's hands.

Sandaime, Orochimaru, Jiraiya, Tsunade, Homura, and Ino-Shika-Cho were still in Ame when their fears came true: Kumogakure was mobilizing.

Danzo sent Kagami with fifty men towards the border to deal with a Kumo army that counted more than four times their numbers. Their mission: hold off the Raikage long enough for the Hokage to deal with Iwagakure. In the end it all was just about a single week. They had to stop the Raikage and his men for just one week, until the Hokage and his team would reach them from Ame.

Sakumo was given his own six-man-squad. Besides his fellow Jonin Akane and Yashiro there were three Chunin, two of whom he had never worked with. His team and another led by Koharu would be dispatched into Yu no Kuni, the Land of Hot Water, to slow the Raikage down for as long as they could before they'd reach the border to the Land of Fire and Kagami's army.

It was a suicide mission if ever there was one. His team and Koharu's, 12 shinobi in total, sent against an army of two hundred.

Sakumo didn't mind giving his life for Konoha. He'd give it voluntarily if necessary. But it felt just so useless. Even if they all were to die, he didn't think it was even possible to stop the Raikage and prevent an all-out second world war. However, Kagami apparently believed there were still miracles in this world. If they managed to throw back Iwagakure and Kumogakure at the same time and protect their borders and Ame's borders … Maybe their enemies would give up and turn back home. The Hokage was willing to forgive those transgressions to prevent war.

Kagami-Sensei told him it was possible. "I believe in you," he said to Sakumo. "Or I wouldn't give you this mission. You're one of the shinobi with the potential to shape this country for the next decades. This week we can carve out our legacies, and it's up to us what kind of legacy this is. Are we at the brink of war or will we be remembered for preventing one from breaking out?"

Somehow, Sakumo felt like Kagami was saying goodbye when he left his tent to meet his team.

Their mission was not easy. They'd be two teams á six shinobi in the cold forests and hills of Yu no Kuni, sent against an army to slow them down as much as they could and deal them some early blows to weaken them enough for Kagami's army at the border to be able to stall them for just one week. Sakumo's and Koharu's Teams would be the first to make contact with the enemy on this front.

"You know your duty, Sakumo," Kagami had said in leu of 'good bye'. "But before you go, Sakumo, I need to tell you something. you've always been arrogant about your skill, yet at the same time you've been oddly insecure when faced with older famous shinobi. I want you to remember that there is not a single shinobi in Kumogakure that you can't keep up with. Of course, some of them might be stronger than you, but you can give them all a run for their money."

Sakumo nodded, as always easily flattered. He didn't know why Kagami was saying that. Maybe, he feared Sakumo would fail, if he didn't have the self-confidence to stand up to his opponents. He was probably right.

He met his team half an hour later.

"Team Sakumo ready to head out!" proclaimed the youngest. Hige Inuzuka was saluting in such an exaggerated way that Sakumo didn't know whether to feel pranked or not. The boy was maybe twelve years old, a chunin with the characteristic red markings of his clan and a small Ninja-dog with dark fur called Blue beside him.

"Team Kagami," corrected Yashiro who felt a bit annoyed.

"But," the Inuzuka started, "Sakumo-taicho is our Captain. Kagami-sama is …"

"Still," Sakumo cut in, "We are Team Kagami. It'll make it easier if somebody tries to infiltrate our team with a Henge. We are Team Sakumo in official correspondence, so enemies if they catch our messenger birds will think that's who we are. But among ourselves we'll be Team Kagami." Sakumo yawned a bit. "It won't be infallible, if somebody manages to watch us for a while. On the other hand … Between Akane, the Sharingan, and mine and Hige-kun's noses, we'll have to congratulate anybody who manages to creep up on us without any of us noticing."

Hige grinned and nodded. Sakumo didn't mention that on top of everything else, he just felt more comfortable leading Team Kagami than leading Team Sakumo.

He looked to the other two Chunin then. Kazuki Yamanaka from the Analysis Team of the Intelligence Division had a medic's basic education and would keep up with their intel and information. He had short dark-blond hair and green eyes. His Hitai-ate hung loosely around his neck. Sakumo had worked with him before and was quite happy with that addition to his team. Kazuki was a quiet, dutiful man but not incapable of having a bit of fun now and then.

Megumi Sato was from a civilian family. If he hadn't known otherwise he'd thought she looked a lot like an Uchiha with her pale skin, dark hair and eyes. Her file said that she was a trapper specialist. He had never worked with her before and that irked him a bit. Her and Hige were wild cards and he'd have preferred a team he knew inside out.

He looked from face to face. He was seventeen himself. Akane with her nineteen years was the oldest, Hige, 12 years old, the youngest. They were six teenagers sent on a suicide mission. He intended for this to not end in a catastrophe. They would throw back the Raikage and his troops. Beyond that he'd move heaven and hell to make sure his teammates would come out of this conflict alive.

He waited for his team to acquaint themselves with each other. Last, he introduced himself.

"I'm Hatake Sakumo. Your Captain and team leader for this mission. You're already aware of the mission details." He looked between his five comrades, then he snorted silently. "This is an S-Rank mission. For many of you this is the first mission of this kind. I intend for it not to be your last." Hige was visibly relieved, Akane smiled lazily, the other three frowned a bit. "We'll leave camp in an hour. Be ready."


	4. Lightning on the Battlefield

**Lightning on the Battlefield**

Their mission started off better than he could have wished. They passed most of the Land of Hot Water without incident. About eight hours into their advance Hige's dog Blue suddenly growled and Akane dropped to the ground to confirm their suspicions. The Kumo-Nin were not far ahead to the north-east.

They found out soon enough that the Raikage had his troops march in small teams from 3 to 20 men, each team close enough to the next to possibly intervene in case of an ambush. That was a shocking revelation, but in Akane and Kazuki they had two good sensors and in himself and Hige there were two good trackers. He had Megumi prepare traps for the westernmost Kumo-scout-team, a three-men-squad. The closest squad were 12 shinobi to their north east.

Sakumo's plan was easy. Take out the 12-men-squad, have Megumi's traps take care of the three scouts and have Akane slow down the reinforcements for long enough for them to make their escape. Before their assault started, he shortly wondered whether Koharu would face the same difficulties. But there wasn't much they could do to help Team Koharu. Maybe later he'd find a quiet hour and ask Kazuki to try and relay a message to Koharu or Kagami-Sensei.

He was still convinced that this whole thing was sheer madness, when Hige dropped down next to him, informing them that he had caught scent of the enemy, they'd be here in ten minutes. Fortunately, the wind was just right to carry the enemies scent into their direction and not the other way around. Hige seemed simultaneously excited and afraid. Sakumo vowed not to let the boy die. He was younger than his brother had been, when he had died in battle.

"Stay close to me" he commanded, not just to protect Hige, but also because Yashiro would be able to do more damage, without him having to worry where all his comrades were. "Kazuki, you and Megumi keep close to Akane. Protect her if necessary and follow her orders."

"Yes, sir!" answered Kazuki, while Megumi just seemed annoyed. He had a feeling the Chunin didn't like him much. Maybe she didn't like taking orders from somebody her age. Sakumo guessed she felt patronized. Sakumo had meticulously explained his plan and her part in it, and she had just rolled her eyes and said she knew her job. Maybe that had been it. It was not the first time he was in command, but the first time his mission was this important, even more so the first time he worked with people he didn't know. He couldn't help being extra careful. Part of him wondered whether he was doing this whole commanding thing all wrong and should trust his teammates more instead of explaining every step in his plans. But he didn't want to risk it.

"Well, then let's go." They hid in trees and bushes.

It was late evening and long dark, when the first Kumo-nin appeared below his hiding place in one of the bigger trees. He counted. One, two … He saw five of them when they slowed down and then stopped. Six, seven, eight. One of them had smelled danger. It was an experienced shinobi's sixth sense: They felt it, when they stepped into a trap. But it was too late for them now. They were already thoroughly caught. Eleven, Twelve. All enemies were there as expected.

He jumped from his hiding place and fell upon them, gleaming white blade and moonlight reflecting in his hair. He hadn't even made contact with the ground yet, when his blade was already deeply planted into the first opponent's jugular. He was dead or dying while Sakumo carved up the second Kumo-nin. He had killed three people before they even knew what was happening. Only then did he meet resistance in form of a chakra enhanced Kunai. But even his fourth opponent was still too slow for him and after they exchanged a few blows, Sakumo suddenly body-flickered behind him and thrust his trusted blade into his back. The man crumbled under him and Sakumo could see one of Yashiro's massive Katon rise into the sky.

Perfect, he thought sarcastically, now everybody knew about this little scramble.

"Reinforcements arriving in three minutes!" Akane screamed from her hiding place.

Sakumo looked around him. Hige had knocked one of his opponents out and duelled with a second. Kazuki had dispatched two more, Yashiro was about to take out his third opponent. Megumi was locked in battle with another. It was almost over.

Megumi suddenly raised her head. "My traps have activated," she informed them.

"Scouts are out **,** " Akane said almost simultaneously.

"Finish up!" ordered Sakumo and raced towards Hige's opponent, a young man with wide eyes and sweat covered forehead. He was clearly afraid when Sakumo disarmed him with two quick hits.

"Hey! He's mine **!** " complained Hige half-heartedly.

"Tell your comrades that they can still turn around **,** " Sakumo snarled at the Kumo-nin. "The Hokage is willing to forget what happened if you turn around now. We don't care for war."

He didn't wait for an answer, but instead plunged his sword into the man's femur. Even if the war would break out completely, this man would not fight in it. But he'd be perfectly fine to relay a message.

They left their first battlefield leaving eleven dead and one injured and none of his own team had suffered more than a few bruises or cuts.

They fled the way Megumi had prepared prior to their fight, a way littered with traps that would activate at potential pursuers.

"Good work **,** " praised Sakumo **,** and made to stop early when they were only a few miles away.

"We're followed **,** " informed Akane dryly.

"Damn **,** " cursed he. It had been too good. If he counted the three scouts that might or might not have died in Megumi's traps they had taken out up to 15 enemies. He had hoped he could call it a day. Even if his team was not severely injured, they'd all been up and running for hours and were tired and exhausted. He examined each of his comrades. "Then keep going **,** " grumbled the Hatake and jumped up to the trees again.

Half an hour later he stopped again to let Akane check in on their pursuers. "They aren't catching up on us. Megumi's traps seem to hinder them, but I'm sure they have a good sensor or tracker. They seem to know where we are."

"How many?"

"Ten."

"There's one massive chakra **,** " Kazuki informed solemnly. "Even bigger than Yashiro-sans."

Sakumo stopped himself from cursing. "Alright. Hige, Kazuki and Akane, you keep on this path. Make sure that their sensors know where you are. If they focus on you three maybe we can catch them unaware."

"You're mad **,** " Megumi complained. "Twelve against six was bad enough, now you want us to fight ten against three? And you heard what Kazuki said!"

"Well," bit Sakumo angrily, "we won't get rid of them otherwise."

"Then let's fight six against ten, not send half of the team away."

Sakumo frowned. He was new at this whole 'commanding thing' but he didn't really like her questioning his every order. He had purposefully sent those there away because they were weakest in direct confrontation. "If all of us hide in the bushes, they'll smell the ambush miles in advance and be prepared. One of them is stronger than all of us in terms of chakra alone, if we can't catch them off guard we might be dead no matter how many we are. And I work better in small teams."

There was a grin from Yashiro, who knew exactly what he meant. Sakumo and he had fought worse odds before, though most of the times they were in better shape and not already exhausted.

"Just prepare your paper bombs **,** " Sakumo ordered. "Prepare the entire field."

Megumi seemed to want to say something else, but she didn't.

"Good luck **,** " said Hige.

"We'll see you at the meeting point." That was Akane, smiling her lazy smile.

Sakumo looked at Yashiro and the two of them quietly communicated their first assault. They'd greet the Kumo-nin with a bang.

It didn't take long for their followers to come into sight. Megumi was hiding behind Sakumo and Yashiro, and he could smell her nervous sweat. He frowned. He really wished for his team to have more confident in his strategies. He knew he was young and inexperienced, but it didn't help his own confidence if his own people were doubting him. He was silently thankful that Yashiro hadn't spoken up against him; the Uchiha normally loved criticizing his every move.

The Kumo Shinobi were moving warily, and two of them looked as if they had already carelessly stepped in one or two of Megumi's little traps. Sakumo gave Yashiro a sign.

There were rapid hand signs.

"Katon: Zukokku!" screamed Yashiro.

"Fuuton: Atsugai!" cried Sakumo.

There was a massive wall of fire, exhilarated further by Sakumo's wind release rolling over their enemies. There were cries of surprise and screams of pain and death. The forest was burning. Sakumo didn't plan to leave it at that. Neither did Yashiro.

The Kumo-nin – the seven that had managed to evade the fire storm more or less unscathed – had escaped into three different direction. One had jumped directly in one of Megumi's prepared paper bomb fields that instantly exploded around him sending the Kumogakure shinobi straight to hell. Two others were soon on the run from a second fire technique courtesy of Yashiro.

"Raiton: Gian!" yelled Sakumo and soon his powerful lightning technique hunted four other Kumo-nin.

There was still one though – and he assumed that was the one Kazuki had mentioned – who clad his body in lightning and flashed between all their attacks with ease making his way to where Megumi was standing and throwing Shuriken at one of the other opponents. She hadn't even seen the danger she was in; Sakumo realized.

"Take care of the rest!" Sakumo screamed at Yashiro and drew his blade to jump in the way of the advancing lightning-clad Kumo-Nin. He had no idea how many Kumo-nin were left or if he left Yashiro with an impossible task, but Yashiro only grunted. Then, he couldn't focus on his team anymore as he had to parry a bone-crushingly strong punch.

His opponent had dark skin and strawberry red hair. He knew him at once. This was the Raikage's second born son, the brother of the next Hokage, the father of the current Jinchuriki. They called him Pink C … And he was one of the dangerous enemies he'd been warned about before this mission.

Sakumo had never cladded his entire body in Raiton, he didn't quite have the chakra capacities for that, and after two B-ranked ninjutsu and that first fight he was already halfway out of chakra. He accelerated his own speed with lightning under his feet and in his joints and sharpened his blade with white chakra. But his opponent didn't just accelerate his speed but also his strength. Sakumo could just barely keep the first punch he managed to block from ripping the sword out of his hand and breaking his arm and shoulder. After that he tried to evade as good as possible and whenever C's fists connected with the surrounding area there were boulders cracking, trees crumbling and roots ripping out of the deep earth. One of those hits, he was sure, would break his ribs and stop his heart. Sakumo was an agile man with a lean and slender built. One of those fists would break him in two. Worse still, he realized with horror, the other man was faster than him. Not much, but just that little bit, that would mean his end, if he couldn't find a shred of luck.

He shouldn't have let this turn into a battle of speed. Maybe, if he had kept his distance he could have turned it into a battle of strategy rather than just sheer speed. His chances would have been better, then. This way, all he could do was evade those fists, twist away from the kicks and know that his own stamina would run out soon. And then he'd be dead.

For a few seconds they were no more than ripples of lightning flashing through the entire battlefield, activating several of Megumi's traps in their wake, but being long gone before they blew up. A white chakra arc wherever he swung his sword, a shimmer of white, when the moonlight caught in his hair, a ripple and crackle of yellow and blue lightning. And the destruction they left behind. There were trees ripped out by the roots wherever his opponent hit wood, other trees cut clean in two from Sakumo's blade. There was quite a bit of collateral damage. Once his opponent almost smashed Megumi when he missed Sakumo, and for a second Sakumo had thought he just lost a comrade, before he realized that C had only hit Megumi at the shoulder. A painful and crippling injury, but not deadly and that was all Sakumo could focus on now. At another instance Sakumo sliced through two Kumo-nin at once when C ducked under his blade. One time Yashiro only managed to evade them thanks to his Sharingan.

It all only lasted a few seconds but after those seconds he was more winded than he had been in a long time.

"You're good **,** " proclaimed C. "What's your name?"

"Sakumo Hatake." He was wheezing but he gladly took that little break to catch his breath.

"A shame you're going to die here, Sakumo Hatake. You could have become one of the great ones."

He remembered his Sensei's last words to him. Kagami had believed in him, that he'd be able to face any opponent the Hidden Cloud had to offer. Right, he could not die quite yet … He still had his team to protect. He'd told them he'd do his damnedest to get them back home. He still planned to do that. That aside, he had not fulfilled his mission yet. They needed to stall Kumogakure for a week, and so far, hardly a day had passed.

C starting to talk to him might have been his biggest mistake … It meant he could still turn this into a battle of minds rather than just speed.

"I don't plan to die **,** " he stalled.

"But you know you're slower than me!" the man laughed.

"I'm still breathing **,** " breathlessly replied Sakumo.

Suddenly C was upon him, but Sakumo had prepared for that. A Kawarimi-Substitution Jutsu later there was a bit of wood in his place and he was cowering behind a bush.

"Did you just turn coward?" chuckled C. "I'm just going to murder your comrades then."

But before he could turn to attack Megumi or Yashiro Sakumo's earth clone stepped out of his hiding place while Sakumo himself hid underground.

The ensuing battle was very short. His clone of course couldn't keep up with C's speed. And then it was an earth clone, and earth was weaker than lightning. One hit and C punched through his clone's chest and his arm stuck there for just a second. Maybe C himself was surprised at how easily he punched through what he had assumed was a normal human being. Maybe he was really stuck there. Sakumo didn't care what it was, but he just had been gifted this one second he needed. Sakumo jumped from his hiding place underground and swiped his white glowing blade across his opponent's back. It was a single beautiful arc and soon C was screaming from anger and pain and blood was trickling from the blade. Still, he had not hit quite as good as he had hoped. Maybe C's armour was thicker than expected or his back muscles had protected his important organs. Instead of dropping dead, C made a swiping move with his free left hand and Sakumo just barely managed to lift his left hand to block. There was a sickening crunch and he flew across the battleground into one of the low bushes. While he scrambled back on his feet, left arm flaring in pain, he thought this was it. He was dead. But then he took in the scene:

C was struggling to remain on his feet, but then crumbling next to the pile of dirt that had once been Sakumo's clone. The last two remaining Kumo-nin, injured themselves, stumbled towards him. Yashiro was heaving and wheezing but seemed to be in otherwise good condition, and Megumi was lying on the ground, alive but trembling in pain.

He called towards Yashiro. "We retreat!" he ordered.

Yashiro stared at him as if he wanted to ask to finish it, but then he nodded quietly. He grabbed Megumi's good arm and heaved her unto his back, before turning away and fleeing in the same direction Akane and the others had disappeared to. Sakumo took a last glance at the scene and then stumbled after them.

He was almost all out of Chakra, when he summoned one of his Ninken and ordered him to have an eye on the Kumo-nin making sure they weren't pursuing them any further. Then he stumbled on. Yashiro was a few steps ahead, slowing down for him to keep up, but Sakumo guessed, even Yashiro couldn't go much faster than this with Megumi over his shoulder.

Only when his ninja hound ran up to them again and told them the Kumo-nin had returned to get medical help, did he dare to change direction towards their actual meeting place. His sight was gradually darkening and growing more and more blurred. When he stumbled to a sudden halt and then crumbled to the ground, he thought they'd never make it to their meeting point.

"Taichou!" he heard Hige's loud voice. Then he knew, they had made it.


	5. Losses and Losses

**Losses and Losses**

When he woke up it was almost dark again. His team was hiding at a secluded area at one of the many hot springs in this hilly region. He was moaning in pain, when he tried to sit up. His body felt as if he'd been crushed by a boulder or something similar. He was still tired, his chakra not quite back to its normal levels and his muscles were sore. His arm hurt badly. But it could be worse, he assumed, he could be dead. His team could be dead. Instead they were all scattered around him, and the only one who was in worse condition than himself was Megumi covered in bandages. Kazuki looked tired, too. Sakumo assumed he had spent the day healing most of their injuries. He still felt pretty shitty.

"How long was I out?" he asked into the quiet even though he knew, it was way too long.

"Ten hours pretty much" grunted Kazuki. "We only found you in the early morning and it gets dark early in these parts."

Sakumo nodded. He scrutinized the Yamanaka with narrowed eyes. "Did you even sleep an hour?"

"I had two hours of rest, while you were fighting and … stumbling through the forest." He grinned thinly.

"Go to sleep" Sakumo ordered. "Can't do anything with all of you in such a pitiful state. We'll move in two hours. When it's really dark."

Yashiro snorted. "You've been out for the entire day, Sakumo. Don't call us pitiful."

"Exactly" answered Sakumo smiling. "I had ten hours of rest. Your turn, guys. I take the watch … I need to think about our next move anyway."

Most of his team nodded. Only Hige kept awake which prompted Sakumo to raise an eyebrow at the Inuzuka.

"Can't sleep anyway. Way too much pent-up energy. Akane-san ordered me to sleep before. Really, you should sleep, I keep watch."

Sakumo only grunted at that. He could use two more hours of sleep, he knew. But he needed two hours to think even more. Megumi's situation was worrying. The way she looked she wasn't much help anymore. They didn't exactly have the time or chakra to heal her and on top of that they were in the middle of foreign territory … territory swarmed with enemy soldiers. If he left her here, chances were high some Yu no Kuni-civilian would find her and sell her out to Kumogakure hoping for protection. Or worse a Kumo-nin could find her. But escorting her to the border or somewhere safe, would be the same as abandoning the mission.

"How fast do you think you could be in Yugakure?" asked Sakumo.

Hige looked at him questioningly. "Eh? Yugakure? Maybe three hours if I push it." Sakumo nodded slowly. Three hours. Or maybe six, if he had to carry somebody. It was an option.

Yugakure was west of here, so if he were to assume that the bulk of the Kumo-forces were just marching through Yu no Kuni to get to Konoha with no interest in this country itself, then there wouldn't be any Kumo-nin in that direction. He didn't want to trust the civilians in the villages close by with his comrade's safety. They had to deal with ravaging Kumo-troupes, and it would be tempting for them to sell out a prisoner to ensure their own safety. But if the Kumo-nin never came close to Yugakure maybe she'd be safe there, at least for as long as Yugakure remained neutral. He had no clue about politics, but he assumed Yugakure, a weak and small village compared to both Kumogakure and Konohagakure would try to remain neutral for as long as possible. Maybe they'd even jump at the chance to help injured Konoha-shinobi to make up for letting the Kumo-nin pass their territory unchallenged. He had no doubt, that Yugakure would declare for whichever party was more promising, should war actually break out between the two great nations. Judging by the fact that there were currently 200 Kumo-nin roaming the hills and forests of their country, he assumed Yugakure would be most inclined to declare for Kumo. Still … should they manage to stall Kumogakure long enough and should the Hokage then manage to throw them back and thus prevent the next great war … He was sure Yugakure would try to remain as neutral as possible. And if they didn't manage to throw Kumo back … they all were dead, anyway. Konoha might come out on top of the war … but Sakumo's team, and Kagami's men at the forefront of the conflict wouldn't. He was pretty sure of that.

It was an option, he thought. He could spare Hige for the twelve hours he'd need to get Megumi to Yugakure, he assumed. And Hige with his nose would be more than capable to avoid other people and make it safely to Yugakure. He hated having to rely on other people to keep his comrades safe. Not Hige, he trusted Hige … but he didn't trust the Shinobi and the Daimyo of Yugakure.

"I'm thinking about sending you with Megumi to Yugakure to ask for their protection during the conflict. They let Kumo pass through their country unchallenged. If they want to remain even remotely friendly with the Hokage, it's the least they can do" he informed Hige.

"But …," Hige sputtered. "You need me here!"

"You'd be only gone for half a day. You'd be back before you know it. The only other option is leaving her here for the enemies to find. I could just as well kill her myself." He gritted his teeth angrily.

Hige stared, then he looked over to Megumi.

"You're sending me because I'm the easiest to spare, right?" he asked warily.

"You also have the nose to avoid enemies" argued Sakumo. But of course, it was true. All of them had what it took to avoid enemies. Still it made Hige smile. "And you're pushy." Sakumo smiled, which made Hige pout. "It's a good thing. I'll have to send a message with you explaining the situation and asking for help. But chances are good, they'll just burn the message and send you away. You can annoy them into doing what we need."

Hige smiled. "I can do that."

"I'm sure you can."

He was still not sure if that was the right way to go, but he still used the time to write a message at the shinobi and/ or Daimyo of Yugakure. He tried to sound friendly and not too personal without making this whole thing into a political move. He was no politician and he was not the Hokage nor even a halfway important person. He couldn't exactly negotiate with Yugakure, all he could do was ask for a favour and silently insinuate that he'd be very much aware if they let him down and tell on the Hokage should they chose to kill a Konoha-shinobi while not being in a conflict with Konoha. Still he tried to make the whole thing as casual as humanly possible. He explained their situation the best he could without revealing classified information, he gave his many thanks and wrote he was willing to repay the favour one day, and twice he mentioned that they were only here to preserve peace not to start a war and that he was very sorry this conflict had dragged into their territory. At the bottom he signed with his own name and rank.

He didn't give Hige the scroll quite yet but held onto it a little longer. He felt like he was stepping on thin ice. He had no authority whatsoever to even talk to anybody from Yugakure and no matter how much he tried to make this non-political, he couldn't change the fact that what he was doing was very much political. And in the end, he was just a seventeen-year-old trying to safe his teammate.

There was movement in their camp when the others slowly woke up. Kazuki still seemed tired and Megumi was hardly able to move from pain. But Hige, Yashiro and Akane seemed to be in good shape. Well, it could be worse.

"I've decided to send Hige with Megumi to Yugakure" he informed his teammates.

"Are you mad?" Yashiro glared at him as if he had lost his wits. Sakumo pouted at that. "You can't just … we have a mission to complete and what authority do you have to negotiate with Yu anyway?"

"I'm not going to negotiate. I'm just asking them not to let Megumi die. What would you have me do instead? She can't exactly stay here."

Yashiro crossed his arms but didn't say anything anymore. Sakumo realized leaving Megumi behind was exactly what Yashiro would have done. He grunted disapprovingly. "If Hige hurries he'll be back in twelve hours at worst. In the meantime, we can take on some of the smaller squads in the vicinity."

"Which means we can't stray far from here, or we'll miss Hige's return." Kazuki was frowning. He seemed to be deep in thought but not disapproving of the plan.

"I still disagree with this. We should head for the main army and make maximal damage" insisted Yashiro.

"And die in the process" said Akane with her easy smile. "I think it's a good idea. We can make a lot more damage if we take out three small squads close by compared to directly attacking the Raikage and dying. Anyway, it's not like we're in best shape in the moment. Don't think I don't feel that neither you nor Sakumo are at 100 %."

Yashiro grunted angrily, but neither he nor Sakumo could argue with that. Sakumo still felt sore and weak.

"Great" grumbled Sakumo and gave Hige the scroll. "Make sure she's safe before returning, but don't die in the process."

Hige nodded eagerly, then lifted Megumi on his back and a few seconds later he and Blue were gone.

Yashiro looked as if he had more to say, but Sakumo wasn't particularly interested. Instead he turned to Kazuki.

"Can you look if you're able to reach Team Koharu or Kagami-Sensei?"

Kazuki nodded. He had one of those portable chakra-communication-machines the Yamanaka had invented to telepathically communicate on the battle field.

There was a short quiet in which Sakumo testily moved his left hand. He'd be able to fight with his right hand, which was good, because he carried his Tanto with the right, but forming hand signs would be uncomfortable.

It didn't take Kazuki long to contact Team Koharu, but there was no contacting Kagami. They were out of range. Koharu-sama and Sakumo exchanged information. The Hatake was displeased to find out that Koharu had lost three of her comrades, half of her team. They also hadn't taken out quite as many Kumo-shinobi as Sakumo's team had, which made Sakumo equal amounts proud at his own team and angry at her for so willingly sacrificing her men. On this northern front Konoha was outnumbered four to one. If her underlings hadn't taken at least four Kumo shinobi with them, their deaths weren't worth it. Worse even, he thought, Koharu seemed oddly proud of her achievement. There was nothing else for Sakumo to do but angrily grit his teeth and relay his own information. He got even more angry at her, when she challenged his decision to send Hige away with Megumi and yet more furious, when she counted both Hige and Megumi as 'losses' 'for the time being' as if they had died the way her own teammates had died.

He had to remind himself that Koharu was twice his age and a good friend to the Hokage or else he'd have probably chosen different words. His team was doing better than hers and still she dared to question him and his decisions. Even with Hige gone his team was still stronger than hers and able to deal more damage to the enemy. Oddly enough, her berating made him only more secure in his decision making. Sakumo told her he'd take out some of the smaller Kumo-squads in the vicinity. At least that seemed to be something she agreed with. Sakumo had always suspected her to be a coward. He didn't think she'd even dare to attack a vast majority.

After their little chat he let Akane search the area and pick the next enemy squad. They decided to attack a small four-man-squad next that had apparently moved a bit to slow because they were out of formation with the rest of the Kumo-teams who were all moving in wide triangles to each other.


	6. The Making of a Legend

The Making of a Legend

He decided that having a Yamanaka in his team was worth gold. When fighting against multiple opponent of mediocre skill Kazuki's mind disturbing technique was almost invaluable. They had taken out the first four-man-squad easily enough. Next, they happened upon another four-man-team that had been a bit more difficult. There were two Jonins that had managed to tag-team Sakumo who was still partly incapacitated with his left hand almost useless. Akane's Doton walls saved his skin but he was tired and almost out of chakra after that.

Yashiro had been injured too, so Sakumo wanted to call it a day earlier than he had planned. It wasn't even midnight yet, but with their two heavy hitters hurt and exhausted he thought it was the best to rest for a while. That was, when eight Kumo-nin came upon them. Somehow two four-men-squads had crept up to them without them noticing and simultaneously attacked them from two sides.

That was, when Kazuki first used Shinranshin no Jutsu. Kazuki wasn't exactly the best Yamanaka in history and this was apparently a difficult Jutsu, especially when his own chakra was hardly any more potent than his opponents'. But somehow, he managed to make four of their opponents fight each other. Even caught off guard, for the three Jonin it had then been an easy thing to first dispatch of the other four opponents before killing the ones who were trying their best but failing to escape the Yamanaka's hidden technique.

Kazuki was almost out of chakra after that and Akane had to carry him on her back, but Sakumo had newfound respect for the frightening skills of the Yamanaka Clan. Kazuki had taken out four Chunin-level opponents at once. He might have needed his comrades' help to actually kill them off, but for quite some time they were as good as out for the count. Combined with his skill he had already shown at medical ninjutsu and battlefield communication … Sakumo made a mental note to recommend Kazuki for Jonin-rank as soon as this was over. Maybe he was not quite there yet, but they still had a few days to go and who knew what other skill Kazuki might pull out of the hat.

They arrived at their meeting place with Hige four hours early, but he was still mostly content with the days achievements: 16 enemy shinobi taken out, no losses.

Akane promptly took over command and ordered all the men in the team to take a break and rest until Hige would come back. She'd keep watch. Sakumo didn't even dare to object. He was fast asleep before he could even think about why he'd wanted to object in the first place.

He woke up with a sudden start. He had his hand at his Tanto before he even realized what had woken him. Yashiro seemed equally on alert, Kazuki was slowly waking up but evidently still mostly out of it. Both Jonin quickly relaxed when they realized it had been Akane who had woken them with no danger in sight.

"Hige is not back, yet" Akane said without even looking at him. Sakumo frowned at that and looked at the rising sun. "Four hours have passed. He's not here, yet" she added when she saw his glance at the sun.

"He should be here" understood Sakumo. "Damn it!" Had he inadvertently sent the young boy to his death trying to save another teammate? "Let's wait for another hour before getting alarmed." He tried to calm himself down more than anybody else.

"Told you it was a bad idea" grunted Yashiro.

"Shut up, Yashiro" hissed Akane. She smiled at Sakumo and it wasn't quite the easy and lazy smile she normally showed. "I think you did the right thing. It makes us a stronger team knowing that you care, Sakumo."

Sakumo couldn't help but frown at that. Once he'd been sent on a mission with Danzo and a few other's and they had laughed at his apparent weakness and softness. His soft heart would weaken the team and ruin the mission, they had said. He wasn't fit to be a Jonin; that had been Danzo's words he remembered. It was an open secret that Sakumo cared about his comrades and while he had not ever abandoned a mission he had made it a bit more difficult for himself every now and then to save a comrade. People had said all kinds of things about his attachment to his comrades. That he was too soft, and should he ever lose somebody it would break him. Sakumo could only frown at that, it wasn't like he had never lost a comrade or seen an ally die, he just preferred not to. That it was a weakness and opponents would abuse it. That it would one day endanger the mission. That he'd one day die because of it. That one day he'd kill his entire team in an effort to safe just one lost soul. That it weakened the entire team effort, because he wouldn't accept his teammates sacrifices. Some apparently thought it was a rather cute and heart-warming trait, but he'd eventually grow out of it, or learn to let go or to set priorities. Nobody had ever told him, it made him or his team stronger.

"I don't quite understand" he admitted earnestly.

"I can only concentrate on what I'm doing when I know you'll watch my back. You know, to protect my team from oncoming enemies I must completely focus on my surroundings, I can't simultaneously concentrate on protecting myself. If I didn't know that you'd keep me safe I couldn't do half of what I'm doing, because I'd always have to keep one eye at my immediate vicinity, and even then, I'd still be scared shitless … I'm no good in close combat."

Sakumo nodded slowly. He hadn't exactly thought of that before. To him, it had always been Akane watching their backs not the other way around. But he presumed it made sense.

"I bet the others see it the same way. It's easier to put your all into a fight when you know, you won't just be left behind. When I work with Danzo I always fear looking up and realizing I've been left alone on the battlefield. I'd still fight on of course. It's not like our lives are more important than the mission or whatever, but just having that constantly on my mind …"

"You're just too soft" snorted Yashiro. "For a true shinobi it's just normal to give it his all even if he were to die."

Akane looked a bit insulted. She was quite cute when she pouted like that, Sakumo thought. "Oh, you shut up, Yashiro. You'd be long dead if it weren't for Sakumo or me keeping you safe."

"What?" The Uchiha angrily gritted his teeth.

"Nothing, I'm just saying." She smiled her easy smile and Sakumo couldn't help but laugh at Yashiro's indignant sputtering.

"Akane-san is right, Sakumo-taichou" said Kazuki suddenly. He was still tired and half asleep. "Half of my techniques leave my body without protection or need me to concentrate completely on my opponent's mind. You think, I would have used that Jutsu earlier, if I had to fear that one of the other opponents would just kill me from behind?"

Sakumo shrugged half-heartedly. "Should you have died, your Jutsu would've lost effect. I'm sure everybody would try to protect you then. Not just because they care about their comrades but because it's the intelligent thing to do."

"True" Kazuki said. He shrugged too. "But I'm not trusting quite everybody with my body."

"Why's Hige taking so long?" asked the Hatake partly to change the topic. He already felt himself blushing from what he could only call praise. It had been easier to just challenge the rules to protect his subordinates while stubbornly acting against the opinion of the people around him. Now, he was half of a mind to just leave Kazuki behind to just end this embarrassing flattery.

"Not here yet." There was a strain to Akane's voice. She pressed her hands on the ground. "This hilly area makes it difficult for me to see further than a mile or two, to be honest." Sakumo nodded knowingly. He had worked with her for years, after all.

It took another hour before she suddenly perked up. "There that could be … yes! But he's pursued."

Sakumo was on his feet immediately. "How many?"

"Wait … fifteen! And I think he's injured. He's fast but his steps are uneven."

Sakumo cursed. Yashiro was next to him in a second. Even Kazuki was back on his feet. "How do you feel, Kazuki?" Sakumo asked a bit worried.

"Don't even try to hold me back. I'm not going to stand back while you fight fifteen of those Kumo-guys."

"Scum, you mean" smiled Yashiro darkly. "Kumo-scum! That's what I call somebody breaking a peace treaty without provocation."

There was a confirming nod from Kazuki more in Sakumo's direction than in Yashiro's and a half-hearted shrug from Sakumo. "Guess I can't stop you. But stay behind us. I want you to get Hige and carry him to safety if he's too injured to fight." Kazuki nodded reluctantly. "Akane, you …"

"Yeah, yeah. I know. Don't worry I haven't forgotten our training."

Sakumo smiled. Then he, Yashiro and Kazuki took off towards Hige. Akane only followed them a few steps, until Hige and his pursuers were in range of her long-range Doton Jutsu.

When Sakumo caught Hige's scent it was mixed with blood and the distinct smell of the goat leather that was characteristic for the Kumo-nins' equipment.

"Five Jonin-level chakra signatures" informed Kazuki once they were a bit closer. Sakumo nodded grimly. Yashiro had his Sharingan activated.

"He's coming" Yashiro said, and only two seconds later, Hige broke through the leaves and stumbled towards them. He had his injured Ninken in his arms and his face lit up when he saw them.

"Taichou!" exclaimed the Inuzuka and slowed down a little, but Yashiro and Sakumo simply passed by him to greet his pursuers. Sakumo could see out of the corner of his eye that Kazuki caught the stumbling Inuzuka. He assumed, Kazuki would either take the boy away towards where Akane was, or they'd soon join the fight depending on how serious Hige's condition was. But he didn't have time to check himself. In the worst case, the old Team Kagami had to deal with their opponents themselves.

The Kumo-Nin were further back than Sakumo had thought. Apparently Akane had done a great job stalling them. Three of them were buried to their hips in one of Akane's long-range mud-trap Jutsus. Four more were just scaling a huge Doton-wall, she had raised between the shinobi to take their formation apart. Good. That way, for now, they only had the remaining eight to deal with until the other seven managed to free themselves from Akane's Jutsus.

Sakumo formed quick hand signs. He had almost forgotten how much that hurt with his injured left. Still, he managed to create a single Raiton: Kage Bunshin. Both Sakumos drew their swords and descended upon their enemies. His clone picked one of the weaker Chunin as his opponents, the original went straight for one of the Shinobi in Jonin-uniform. The Jonin had a short sword, just a bit longer than Sakumo's own Tanto drawn to block Sakumo's strike.

There were to many opponents for Sakumo to risk a drawn-out fight, so at the last chance he activated his Raiton Chakra at his feed and accelerated just enough to catch the Jonin by surprise. The Jonin hadn't quite raised his sword when Sakumo had already cut his throat. He was about to turn to his next opponent when he felt his Bunshin's memories rush at him. His Bunshin had managed to take out a Chunin and had then been taken out by a strike to the head. From his memories Sakumo knew exactly where the opponent was, that had taken out his clone, so he didn't even look where to aim his Kunai. He had the Kunai thrown with his injured left, and he knew his throw wasn't quite as good as normally, but he had other opponents to deal with, so he couldn't make sure, whether he hit the target. He knew that whoever had dispatched of his clone had been hit by the dangerous discharge of a dissipating lightning clone and was probably stunned and unable to move for just a second. So, the chances were good, he wouldn't be able to dodge the Kunai, even if It was badly thrown. In fact, Sakumo heard an angry cry of pain a bit later, and he knew, he hadn't killed, but injured. He still couldn't look. Two opponents were upon him at once, and he could see a Doton wall suddenly rising a few steps behind him, Akane apparently trying to stop somebody from stabbing him in the back. He managed to fatally injure another opponent and he felt the heat of Yashiro's Katon too close for comfort before the four who had been scaling the wall before came upon him and Yashiro.

A quick glance around told him that beside the two he had taken out himself, Yashiro had taken out three and the one Sakumo had hit with the Kunai was considerably slowed down. But they now faced the remaining nine opponents. He made a quick sign to Yashiro, then he stamped on the ground and at once activated his chakra at his soles to keep himself stabilized. It was a sign to Akane, who suddenly made the ground below them tremble and shake. Two of the Kumo-Nin stumbled and fell, three more lost their balance for just a second and the remaining four fled to the trees. Yashiro and he were upon the once who had lost balance in a blink. Sakumo had cut two throats and Yashiro had shattered a skull with a chakra enhanced kick and knocked another opponent out, before the Shinobi up in the trees realized what had happened. They hailed a storm of Shuriken, Kunai and Paper bombs down on them not needing to care anymore for their comrades on the ground a all five of them were dead or severely injured and out for the count.

Sakumo cursed and deflected a few Kunai only barely escaping a paper bomb. Two Shuriken embedded themselves in his leg and back. Yashiro didn't fare much better. At least they could keep themselves from being blown up by the paper bombs. Sakumo didn't even manage to come up with a counter strategy. All he could do was survive.

Somebody threw a powerful Water Jutsu at them and suddenly, while they had just a few seconds ago still desperately tried to evade deadly paper bombs and block Kunai and Shuriken, now Sakumo felt himself swept away by a mighty vortex of Chakra embedded water crushing him against a tree and pushing the Shuriken in his back only further into his flesh. He would have screamed if he didn't desperately need the air.

He just waited for one of the Kumo-Nin, most of them very proficient with Raiton, to hit the water with a lightning attack and deep-fry him. Instead however the water suddenly swept away and vanished into the earthy ground leaving only big puddles behind.

"Shintenshin no Jutsu complete" he heard one of the Kumo-Nin say and he stared up at the trees where they had fled to. There were only two left. The one who had spoken, and somebody on a different tree angrily staring at his partner with open surprise.

"What did you do, asshole?" the angry one – obviously Jonin-level – cried at his partner.

Only then did Sakumo understand what had happened. The Kumo-nin had turned on his comrades and killed two of them from behind. Among them the one who had used the water technique … No, Sakumo thought smiling tiredly, that wasn't quite it. Kazuki had used his hidden position to aim his Yamanaka-Clan-specialty the Mind Transfer Jutsu at one of the unmoving targets on the trees.

He would so ask for Kazuki to be made Jonin.

"Now!" He heard Hige scream. Then he saw the boy's Fang over Fang Inuzuka-Taijutsu style raise from the woods and attack the possessed Chunin. Sakumo's first instinct was to scream at the boy, that he'd hurt Kazuki, too, but then he at once realized that this had been a plan by the two Chunin, so he kept quiet and instead managed a few tired hand signs. It hurt, and he felt too exhausted for this, still he managed to throw a Raiton in form of a rising falcon at the only Kumo-Jonin left behind, subsequently missing him, but stopping him from interfering with the Konoha-Chunins' plan.

Hige's taijutsu positively shredded the Kumo-nin. He stopped his rotation landing on hands and feet all bloody claws and fangs and looking more dangerous and older than Sakumo had ever seen him. Meanwhile Kazuki stepped out of his hiding place, smirking quite pleased with himself. Yashiro and Sakumo were struggling standing up, but all four of them now stood opposite the Kumo-nin.

The Jonin facing them was uninjured and didn't seem very winded but positively furious. He had dark skin and light blue – almost white hair. He had heavy gauntlets and armour. Sakumo threw a quick glance around. He wasn't quite sure who of them was able to take this guy on in the state they currently were in.

Kazuki was still exhausted though smiling. Hige was hurt. Yashiro was injured as well and looked a bit wary. And Sakumo felt like he should by all rights be dead. His back and leg and hand hurt badly, and he was exhausted, and his lungs still burned from having almost drowned. He had lost his sword when the water had hit him. And he didn't feel quite ready to do anything that involved hand sings. He drew a Kunai. He felt like he was out of options.

"How dare you!" The Kumo-nin grunted taking one step towards them, lightning crackling at his fists.

There still was somebody who could help them out, remembered Sakumo. He made a shifting movement with his food. Forming a little circle. Akane would understand, he just hoped it worked out.

"You are the guy C talked about. Sakumo Hatake" the Jonin kept talking raising his fists. "I will show you not to chall-"

Suddenly the ground opened below him. There was an angry scream but there was nothing he could do, no way for him to stop himself from falling into the endless abyss. Suddenly the walls of the hole were crumbling inward burying the shinobi deep underground.

"Woah" yelled Hige. "That's so cool. Is that Akane?"

"One of her favourites, but it's really difficult if the opponents are running around" informed Sakumo. "Anyway, he might not be dead, yet. This is powerful and almost impossible to beat if one falls for it that badly. But if there is a way to beat it, it would be with lightning release." He nodded at the crumbled earth in front of him, the only sign that there had once been a giant whole in the ground. Then he moved to pick up his Tanto. "That guy was good. Can't imagine him just giving …"

Suddenly, earth was rising in front of him.

"So, he had Doron, too? Damn it!"

They watched a bit surprised, as the Kumo-nin rose on a pillar of earth only for the pillar to crumble under one of Akane's Jutsus. Suddenly the Kumo-nin landed in a puddle of mud but managed not to sink in with the help of his chakra. "Shit!" He screamed angrily. "Who of you assholes is that!"

"That would be me" lied Yashiro easily, surprising them all. The Kumo-nin angrily stared at the Uchiha. And that was his mistake. Sakumo had cut his throat before the man – or probably even Hige and Kazuki – even realized he'd been caught in a Sharingan-Genjutsu.

"Alright" Sakumo said finally looking around. "Any survivors? If so … ah, I guess we could use a prisoner or two. Not like, we'll manage to do anything else worthwhile for the day. I need a break. How're your injuries, Hige?"

"I'm fine … mostly. But Blue's not well."

Sakumo nodded at that, before looking at Yashiro. His teammate was bleeding quite badly from a wound in his arm.

"Don't look at me like that" exclaimed Yashiro. "You look ten times worse."

Sakumo looked doubtfully, but Kazukis silent snort made him reconsider. "He's right, Taichou" said the Yamanaka.

Sakumo nodded slowly. He did feel worse than Yashiro looked, to be honest. "Then I leave the clean up to you two", he said to Yashiro and Kazuki. "Hige, get Blue. We meet up with Akane."

45 minutes later they were all back at their camp site. Hige was being a bit whiny about a cut on his leg and Kazuki was stubbornly refusing to rest before he had healed at least some of their worst injuries although he needed the rest badly. Akane was telling them they were all idiot's but still smiling her lazy smile and Yashiro had gone to sleep immediately. Sakumo envied him a little, but instead he searched the prisoner they had made that day – the Chunin that had dispatched of his clone and had inadvertently been hit by Sakumo's Kunai into his right thigh.

He didn't find much aside from a basic med-pack, a map of the surrounding areas and a few rations. There were some weapons some basic anti-poisons, but since none of them had been poisoned, they didn't exactly need all of that. Still Akane held onto all the stuff.

Sakumo in the meantime tiredly skimmed through a Bingo Book, Yashiro had found in the pouch of one of the dead Jonin. He felt a small pang of jealousy when he realized that all three, Jiraiya, Orochimaru and Tsunade already had their own page within the Kumogakue Bingo Book. They were listed as A-rank bounties. Orochimaru even as S-rank. He also found Kagami-Sensei, S-Rank as well. There were a few names crossed out and he knew a few faces. Two members of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist gone rogue. The Gold and Silver Brothers that had been involved in the murder of the Nidaime Hokage. He also saw a Jonin from Sunagakure he had seen training a Suna-team during last year's Chunin-exams. And another he remembered from his own exams. Most he could find in his own Bingo Book, that is of course aside from the Konoha shinobi on the list.

"Hey, they've given Koharu a bounty", he drawled after coming to one of the last pages where her name, description, rank and bounty had been added in crude handwriting.

"She must have dealt them some heavy blows then" said Akane.

"What about us? what about us?" asked Hige excitedly cradling his injured dog.

Sakumo raised an amused eyebrow at him. "Well, let's see." It was more of a joke rather than anything else as he didn't really expect to be given a bounty. He was already used to his affords being a bit overlooked or paling in comparison to some of his age mates – most prominently Hiruzen Sarutobi's students. Maybe that was the reason he suddenly sobered up and straightened a bit in surprise when he found his own name in the same handwriting at the next page. "Oh, look at that", he mumbled more to himself.

"What is it?" asked Hige eagerly setting down his dog and moving over to him. He looked over Sakumo's shoulder than he proudly hit Sakumo's shoulder entirely too friendly with his direct superior. Sakumo didn't really mind though … or wouldn't have minded if he hadn't hit his injured shoulder sending a jolt of sharp pain through his entire backside.

"You've got a bounty!" Hige exclaimed. "An S-Rank. That's better than Jiraiya-san!"

"Yeah, I don't quite understand it myself" admitted Sakumo.

"Makes perfect sense" said Kazuki. "You've actually dealt them a few painful losses. Jiraiya-san is just in there because of reputation. I don't think he ever fought Kumo.

Sakumo couldn't help but agree. He stared at his name for a while, then he closed the book. He was 17 and couldn't quite help the feeling of pride at seeing his own name. After all, getting your name in another nation's Bingo Book was the first step to becoming a famous legend in your own right. On the other hand, he couldn't quite help the feeling that for a ninja to become famous he was doing something wrong.

"Let's rest for the day. Akane, you're in the best shape. I know you need your own sleep, but could you take first watch. Wake me in three hours. I take second. Yashiro takes third, then Kazuki. Twelve hours should be enough then we're ready to move out again at … 22:00?"

He didn't think Yashiro had heard Sakumo assign him third watch. Yashiro was already fast asleep.


	7. Death of a Friend

**Death of a Friend**

He didn't dream before he was woken for his watch. However, he did dream afterwards. It was bloody and confusing and when he woke up again, all he remembered was that it had been about war. He didn't try very hard to remember the details after that. Those dreams were best forgotten, he knew.

It was night again and they had all slept enough to make it through the next hours of danger and bloodshed, he thought. They were still sore and wounded and hurt and their chakras were still nowhere near fully recovered. But they'd make do.

Kazuki managed to get into contact with Team Koharu again. She had lost another comrade and she herself was hurt badly. They were abandoning the mission and moving back to Kagami's front line. There was nothing else they could do and Sakumo knew it. Still, he was somewhat angry at being left the only remaining team in Yu no Kuni so he proposed she and her remaining comrade could meet up with them and join forces. She refused. She was too hurt and needed a medic. That made him even angrier, because he knew for any of her comrades she wouldn't have turned back. Still he accepted it. Maybe it was better that way, he thought. If Koharu were to join up with them, he was sure she'd take control over his team, and he didn't quite want to relinquish command. He slowly began enjoying his responsibility.

She told them to leave their camp and come closer to the border. The great bulk of the Kumo-nin had already arrived there and just an hour ago they had apparently made first contact with Kagami's forces. Sakumo felt distressed at the news. They still had to wait out four to five more days until the Hokage was expected to arrive at the front. So Kagami had to deal with the Raikage and both his sons for five days. Sakumo had almost died fighting just one of them. He didn't quite know who under Kagami's command aside from Kagami himself had the strength to take on just one of them. He hoped he had injured C badly enough to take at least him out of the fight, but he wasn't too sure about that. A week was a long time for a shinobi medic to thoroughly heal almost any kind of wound.

Koharu told them, Sakumo's team could fall upon the enemy army from behind. It almost made him snort. Sure, five shinobi – already injured and weakened – jumping an entire army in the back. They'd be dead before they knew it. Sakumo decided they'd rather hit on scouting troupes, support lines or whatever smaller squads they could find. He assumed they could ambush medic-squads who almost always lingered in the back of an army formation … That would deal Kumo a heavy blow, but it left a sour taste on his tongue just thinking about it.

"We're moving closer to the border. The armies have met" he told his team. There was a short quiet, then Akane nodded and with that the five Konoha-nin erupted in movement.

Kazuki questioned the Kumo-nin not finding much aside from the names of the Kumo-squad-leaders and a few troupe movements. They left the man behind without killing him. It would be a waste of time, as he wasn't able to fight anymore with the wounds he had sustained and there wasn't much he had heard that would give the enemy any important intel. But if they managed to stop the Raikage and secure peace, maybe leaving some of their men alive would be seen as a gesture of good will.

They were back on the road shortly before midnight – or rather on the trees. Hige was carrying a still badly hurt Blue. That aside they were in decent shape. Sakumo tried not to complain about his aching back and hand and Hige kept quiet about his hurt leg as well.

Sakumo had decided to take the lead. Normally he'd sent the Inuzuka with his nose first, but Sakumo's nose was almost as good as Hige's and the boy was not entirely focused with his trusted companion so hurt. They made good time. Once they had to detour a bit to avoid a Kumo-squad they knew was there from interrogating the Chunin. Another time, they found a three-men scouting party and Sakumo, Yashiro and Akane dispatched of them quickly and silently. And lastly, they almost stepped into a trap that smelled of Konoha's Ninja Art and he was sure it was one of Team Koharu's traps.

Two hours after midnight Blue was in a surprisingly good state and Hige therefore in a far better mood. He joked to Akane and an annoyed Yashiro about what kind of nickname they could give Sakumo if their Captain were to become a famous shinobi one day. Sakumo felt he had just gained a fan which was an oddly embarrassing realization.

"The silver shadow" whispered Hige. Sakumo had told him to at least keep it a bit quiet but even his whispers were almost too loud for Sakumo's liking. "That's my favourite so far" decided the boy. "The Silver Shadow or … or … the god of thunder."

"That was the Nidaime Hokage", grunted Yashiro annoyedly.

"Oh, yeah … I knew I had heard that somewhere." Hige scratched his head and laughed silently. "Then it has to be the Silver Shadow I guess."

"The chakra on his blade is more white than silver, you know?" said Akane smiling.

"Yeah, but his hair is silver. Especially in the moon light."

"It's grey" snorted Yashiro which made Sakumo almost sputter indignantly. He'd except both white and silver for his hair colour. Grey just made him seem old though.

"Grey Shadow is stupid" said Hige. "And white is boring. Let's just stick with silver."

Yashiro shrugged and rolled his eyes.

"You've got a fan, Taichou" said Kazuki who was closest to Sakumo.

Sakumo laughed silently. "Ah, Kazuki, good work yesterday. Saved my ass twice."

"Just doing my job."

"Well you're doing a good job. I'm thinking about recommending you for Jonin-rank when this is over." He hesitated. "Maybe I'm a bit young to recommend others for Jonin, but well, I'll try anyway."

"You really think, we're going to survive the week", Kazuki wondered aloud. "That's some high level positive thinking."

"You just want me to roll over and die, or what?" The Hatake grinned thinly. "I'm planning to survive at least. Can't hurt to have plans for after, you know?"

"I guess" admitted Kazuki quietly. "Anyway, thanks. Means a lot, even if it's weird to get these kinds of compliments from somebody my age."

"I know what you mean", he said, although he didn't really. The only people his age who had ever been considerably above his rank or his direct superiors had been Sarutobi's students. Anybody else, might have been above him once, when he had himself decided to pass on the Academy's Graduation Exam, but for him it had never been a difficult thing to catch up to anybody's rank. He was a genius after all, and for a genius making Jonin was not very difficult nor their ultimate goal, it was getting legendary and renown what he was working on – despite that nagging feeling that shinobi had no business being famous.

There was a sudden scent in the air and he raised his arm to halt his team. "Enemies ahead" he informed them and Akane immediately dropped to the ground to check.

"Seven" she said.

Hige sniffed the air. "They smell decently strong" admitted the Inuzuka but when just a few days prior this might have filled him with fear and doubt, now he just looked excited.

"Let's get a bit closer and see what we find", Sakumo said.

An hour later he didn't know what had gone wrong. Maybe he should have just listened to this tingling, nervous feeling in his back. He had told his comrades that he didn't feel right, he wanted to turn back. Yashiro had called him a coward for it, they couldn't just turn back whenever Sakumo felt like it, after all picking up small squads was their mission. So Sakumo had listened to his comrade and crept closer to the enemy. He had still felt bad about it, so he had ordered Hige and Kazuki to stay behind and had just chosen his Jonin-comrades to follow him. He had made Akane and Yashiro go around the enemy camp to come upon them from different sides and somehow, he had not realized the trap he had stepped in.

Instead of seven Kumo-nin sitting around a camp fire they only found two and five Bunshin. They had quickly killed those two and destroyed the clones. He didn't have the time to ask where the other five were, because at that moment explosions erupted around him. There were screams and the constant ring of a tinnitus in his ear and the air reeked of blood and death.

He knew then he had been foolish to leave behind the Chunin, the weakest of their troupe. After the days of working together he had learned to respect them for their skills, but they were still Chunin, Hige was still a kid and he had left them unprotected. He didn't think twice about turning back and running for his teammates accelerating his pace to inhuman speed. He was lightning fast, but still too late.

He realized his Jonin teammates he had left at the camp fire had started fighting an opponent he had not yet seen. All he saw was Kazuki's body burned beyond recognition, a dead dog and a crumbled boy. He realized only a second later, that Hige was breathing if only barely. Then he heard the noises of fighting.

He had lost a comrade … not just a comrade but a subordinate, a man he'd been responsible for, a man who had just yesterday saved is life twice. They had spoken about making him Jonin. Hige, who was just a twelve-year-old kid, who had joked about giving him a nickname and who was now hurt and had lost his loyal companion. Blue, maybe just a dog, but a comrade nonetheless.

He was angry, furious … there was wrath and hurt boiling in his insides and he had drawn the Tanto and turned back to the fight where Yashiro and Akane were fending for their lives before he gave himself any time to mourn. Within a split second he was back in the fight. There was blood trickling down his white blade over his fingers and his arms, there was more blood in his silver hair shining in the moon light. He was snarling and growling. And in his fury, he hardly realized when the first enemies turned to flee. He'd carved them all up indiscriminately. Still, one escaped with a blasted Teleportation Jutsu.

It was Akane who later wrenched the blade from his grip and turned him from a snarling beast back to the human mess he was. The people saying, he was to soft hearted and once he'd lose a comrade he'd probably never get over it, were right after all. But it was not losing a comrade, that made him cry out in pain, it was losing a subordinate. Someone who's life had been his responsibility. For when you lose a comrade it could mean all kinds of things, losing a subordinate, it meat he had failed, because their survival was his responsibility.

He was seventeen years old, and he knew Kazuki of the Yamanaka Clan, a Chunin from the Hidden Leaf would probably not remain the only subordinate he'd ever lose. Still, he was the first. And it hurt. Now, that serious face with short blonde hair and green eyes with newly gained rings under his eyes from two days of fighting with lingering chakra exhaustion, was burned almost beyond recognition.

In the end, there was nothing he could do, but seal the body in one of the scroll's he'd been given for exactly that purpose. When a shinobi leads a team on a mission that might end in death, that shinobi is given one scroll for each of his team members. The seals and signs on it are already pre-drawn in blank ink on white. All one had to do was make a hand sign and seal away the body. In the best-case-scenario, those scrolls would remain empty and the team would come back home complete and save. In the worst-case-scenario, nobody would home and there would be no scrolls with bodies to burry. In between those two extremes on such a mission, everything could happen. Sakumo knew, Koharu would come back with four team mates missing. But he did not know, if she'd have four scrolls with bodies to bury.

He knew, it would be naïve to think nobody else of his team would die on this mission, to think he could vow to bring the other four back home safely and actually keep that vow. He'd try as best as he could, but there could be no guarantee. The way it looked, Hige would probably still die of his injuries, and he himself, Akane and Yashiro didn't look too good either. And they still had to survive that wretched week. But he did vow, to bring back their bodies. He'd make it with his teammates bodies or not at all. Even if he could not always prevent his teammates from dying … at least he could swear to himself that he'd always turn back for them, try to save them or if he couldn't, try to bring back their corpse.

He sealed away Kazuki's body and Blue's tiny corpse.

Akane was trying desperately to get Hige at least somewhat stable. Yashiro was keeping quiet, scouting the area for a few minutes then turning back and saying he didn't feel safe staying here. Sakumo knew, he was right. That man that had gotten away could come back with reinforcements. He waited for Akane to give the 'go ahead' then he lifted he small Inuzuka up in his arms and left through the woods, Akane and Yashiro close behind him.


	8. Konoha's White Fang

**Konoha's White Fang**

It would be the night, that made him famous. An hour later, the Shinobi of Kumogakure who had managed to flee from the massacre, would stumble upon a group of his comrades and tell the tale of the white beast. A man snarling and growling, white hair and blade and fangs and claws. It was a bit ironic that the man he described sounded oddly like an Inuzuka if it weren't for his hair colour and the distinct lack of the red clan-markings. But normally, fangs and claws, growling and snarling, more animal than human, it was a description of an Inuzuka gone mad. However, during that very fight it had been a fitting description of the white-haired Hatake. The Kumo-nin gave him a name then. It wasn't the 'silver shadow' as Hige had favoured just a few hours earlier, or any of the other names he'd come up with. 'Silver Shadow' wouldn't have been a fitting name, either. He'd been no shadow, he'd been a snarling beast.

Konoha's White Fang, that's what they started calling him.

Sakumo Hatake didn't know yet, that he'd just gained fame, a name and a legend. If he had known, he'd have given all of that way gladly if he could then undo the last battle and bring Kazuki Yamanaka and Blue back to live. Of course, there was no such possibility. They were dead and all that remained was doing everything they could – praying – that Hige wouldn't die, too.

A few miles south-west of where Kazuki had died, they slowed down and while Akane made sure they weren't followed, Sakumo took his first better look at Hige's injuries. He had severe burnings all over the right side of his body, his right arm was in an odd angle obviously broken and there was blood all over him from thousands of tiny injures the paper bombs had caused. He was no medic – Kazuki had been their medic – so he didn't know if any of the injuries were deadly, but the loss of blood was dangerous, that much he was sure of.

They made camp for the rest of the night, but none of them caught much sleep. One of them kept constant vigil over the injured Inuzuka, another kept watch and the third tried to sleep, before they switched around. But Sakumo was hardly able to close his eyes when it was his turn to sleep. He felt dead tired when he raised with the sun to take over Akane's watch. Instead of sleep, it were the food pills that kept his body running.

Before Akane laid down to sleep she brushed his shoulder in a consoling gesture, but she didn't say anything. There was no lazy, easy smile on her face.

"How's the boy?" asked Sakumo in the general direction of Yashiro who was sitting against a tree eyes on the Inuzuka.

"Still breathing." There was a dark look in Yashiro's eyes, a foreboding that Sakumo was glad he didn't make verbal, yet.

Sakumo grunted.

The sun rose above their heads but Sakumo didn't think about getting to move on again. He had summoned two of his dogs – not willing to sacrifice more chakra at the moment – and sent them out to watch the perimeter. After that all he did was sniff the air every once in a while, but there was no new scent. He could still smell blood and death and fire, and his fingers instinctively curled around the scroll that held Kazuki's body.

He watched Akane wake up and switch positions with Yashiro giving him a few hours of well-deserved sleep.

"I think he's going to make it" said Akane after looking over Hige's wounds. They had bandaged most of them but even between all of them they had hardly enough gauze to wrap an entire body in it. Sakumo's and Akane's med-packs were as good as depleted, and the pack they had taken from the Kumo-nin-prisoner was thrown away too, completely used up.

"Good" grumbled Sakumo tiredly. When the boy woke up – if he woke up – he'd have to tell him that his dog was dead. He was not looking forward to it.

"He's not going to be able to fight anymore, though" she added after a moment.

Sakumo only sighed at that.

When Yashiro woke the sun was already nearing the zenith. The Uchiha glared at his two teammates for a moment, then he grunted disapprovingly.

"We can't really stay here for much longer."

He was right of course. They still had a mission to complete and at this very moment, Kagami was probably fighting the Raikage.

"We need to rest" Sakumo said anyway. There was a frown from Yashiro and a raised eyebrow, but he didn't argue.

"Then rest" grumbled Yashiro finally. "You look like shit."

Sakumo knew he was right, again. So, he didn't argue either and closed his eyes where he sat against a tree.

He dreamed that he recommended Kazuki for Jonin-rank, but when the Yamanaka appeared in front of the Hokage and the Jonin-council he was charred and burnt beyond recognition and screaming in pain. Hige was there and told Sakumo it was his fault, that he had left them to fend for themselves, that he had known it was a trap and stepped in anyway.

"Death would be a mercy." He heard Yashiro's voice. "He's just going to hold us back."

He woke with a start.

Only when he heard Akane sigh and say, that Sakumo would never stand for it, did he realized that he hadn't imagined or dreamed Yashiro's words.

"We're not going to kill anybody. Not for mercy or anything." Sakumo glowered at his comrade, then looked at Hige. The boy was still unconscious but there were grunts of pain and moans of discomfort that proved he was closer to consciousness than before.

"Yeah, yeah" grumbled Yashiro and raised his hands in surrender. "What then? We're just going to sit here until somebody comes to tell us whether we lost or not?"

"No" sighed Sakumo. "We're going to the front, try to meet up with Kagami-Sensei. There's not much else we can do anyway."

"You're aware we'll have to pass through the Kumo-front line for that. Have you forgotten the 200 enemies camping between us and Sensei?"

Sakumo glared at Yashiro. "I'm not stupid. We'll try to move around them … You will anyway."

Akane narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "We? What about you?"

"As far as they know … there's only one group of Konoha-shinobi close by. Even if they don't know about Koharu meeting up with Kagami again, they won't assume her in this area. They won't expect us to split up. So, when I show myself, Akane can try to tunnel below them without them expecting anything."

Akane obviously wanted to argue against the plan. Sakumo raised a hand to stop her before she could rage against his self-sacrifice.

"Look, it's the best I can come up with. If you put all your chakra in it, you might make it to dig straight to the border and find the Konoha-troupes. I need Yashiro to go with you, because I know your Chakra reserves. You'll hardly make it all the way, and even if you do, you'll be all out of chakra. So, I need him to make sure you don't just collapse for the enemy to pick up and kill."

"Then come with us!"

"Even if their sensor's might not be quite on your level, Akane, they'll sense it when somebody tries to pass below them. Especially when they know, there are still enemies behind them. Someone needs to distract them." He groaned, because, really, this should be logical.

"So, you're just sacrificing yourself?"

"No, I'm fast. I'll try to pass through them on the surface and make it to Kagami's men. If anyone can pass through them, it's me." He nodded more to himself than to her. He was quite sure himself, that he wouldn't survive this. Then again, he hadn't assumed to live that long, anyway. After all, he still considered this a suicide mission.

"You're forgetting, that there are at least three Kumo-nin we know of that are faster than you, plus I don't know how many who can keep up with you" grunted Yashiro. "Anyway, I'm against this. Our mission is to …"

"Our mission is to halt and challenge the Kumo-nins' advance through Yu no Kuni", Sakumo cut in a bit annoyed at his teammate's reluctance to follow his plans. "The enemy has already arrived at the border to Konoha. As far as I'm concerned, the mission is over. Even if it weren't we've killed almost 50 of their number in the last few days. We have more than done our part. Even if we fell upon them from behind … It's not exactly our specialty. We're ambush-specialists. Faced with the bulk of the army we'll be dead in a second. I can …" He hesitated because he knew Yashiro hated every reminder that the Hatake was better than him. "Look, if I'm alone I can maybe pass through them. But you can't. And Akane's fighting style mostly involves not moving to begin with. There's no chance we can all pass through the enemy ranks on the surface. Never mind take Hige with us."

Yashiro's face contorted in rage. "Yeah, you always thought you were better than us, didn't you?"

Sakumo grunted. He was half of a mind to agree, instead he tried to remain calm. "No, Yashiro. In this case however, even you have to see that my speed is a plus." He realized, Yashiro was still angry and Akane, who was normally on his side was not very happy with his plan. He sighed annoyedly. "Anyway, those are my orders. Think of them what you want. Complain to the Hokage, if we make it out alive. But do as I say."

Yashiro had always been a stickler to the rules, so he didn't argue anymore. Instead he saluted somewhat mockingly and Sakumo was pretty sure Yashiro would in fact complain to the Hokage. But he didn't care. If Yashiro were to complain to the Hokage … well it meant they first needed to survive this.

"Great" muttered the Hatake when nobody argued against him. "We'll wait till night fall. I need more sleep." He needed to get his chakra reserves back to somewhat acceptable levels. He still felt more dead than alive.

Sometime around 4 in the afternoon Hige woke up.

He knelt next to the boy to tell him about Blue, but as soon as he looked in those brown eyes he realized Hige already knew. So, "I'm sorry", was all he said.

Hige didn't answer.

The boy was not the same easily excited, almost annoying kid anymore. He was quiet and with a dark scowl on his face. There was a pain and hurt in his eyes and anger in his face that made it difficult for Sakumo to even look at him. Part of him feared Hige's anger was directed at him, for failing, and for walking in a trap that had killed Blue. He kept away from Hige for the rest of the day as much as he could without obviously avoiding him.

He was almost glad when the sun set, and he ordered the other three to leave. He could hardly even look at the boy without thinking that his suffering was his fault one way or the other.

Yashiro kept quiet, when he half carried Hige away. Akane wished Sakumo good luck. Hige just looked at him with dull eyes and Sakumo wasn't sure the Inuzuka was even understanding what was happening.

He waited until he heard the rumble of Akane's Earth Release, before he himself moved away from the scene to look where best to fall upon the enemy. He didn't want to get too close to Akane's tunnels. Just in case one of the Kumo-nin around him was using wide scale destruction Jutsus he didn't want to risk Akane's tunnels to crumble. On the other hand, he couldn't go too far, or it wouldn't serve as a destraction for the Shinobi close to the tunnels.

Akane was trying to dig under the western flank so Sakumo decided to attack the western flank towards the centre. He knew, of course, that the closer he'd get to the centre the bigger the risk to meet stronger opponents. He was willing to risk it anyway, better than risking the tunnels to collapse.

He could hear a bit of fighting everywhere but mostly from the centre. It wasn't too loud, and he assumed the armies were still mostly keeping their distance. Or, maybe, Kagami slowly retreated trying to slow Kumo down without losing too many of his men in the process. He couldn't really think of a reason why the Raikage wouldn't just attack when they still so severely outnumbered the Konoha forces. Sakumo tried not to think too hard about it. Instead he drew his blade, testily felt his own chakra and then he attacked.

They didn't see him coming and he was as fast as ever. He had cut three enemies down and had already made his way pretty far into the enemy lines before he was first halted in his assault by a Kunai blocking his strike. He didn't linger for long, just letting the shinobi that had managed to parry his attack stand where he was rushing further and attacking another. Soon they were all over him. There was a woman who almost impaled him on a lightning enhanced spear. Instead she just cut him across the chest. There was a man who smashed his shoulder into Sakumo throwing the Konoha-nin off course and making him stumble, but he kept on running. He cut down two more but killing neither when earth crumbled below him, and he just barely managed not to stumble with the trembling earth and be caught in a small landslide.

Thankfully as he was in the middle of the opposing army none of them quite dared using more destructive ninjutsu. So mostly he had pin point attacks to parry and evade and he could almost manage for a while.

That was until a fist caught him in the stomach and sent him heaving and sputtering across the battlefield. He managed to stand back on his feet, but his knees were trembling. There was blood running down his torso and aches in his back and sweat in his eyes and he felt as if he'd just been run over by a horde of elephants. Still, he managed to hold on to his sword with fingers slick with blood.

When he raised his eyes, he thought, he was probably better off dead.

Most Kumo-nin he had faced and killed these last few days had the very distinct looks of the people of the Land of Lightning: Dark skin, but light hair. The second Raikage however had more uncharacteristic dark hair and dark eyes. He had grown a bit old, with dark grey locks littering his black scalp. That almost made him look more intimidating than the older picture Sakumo had seen showing him in his earlier years.

Sakumo's first instinct was to run and get away from here as fast as possible. Of course, he knew, he'd never be fast enough. Sakumo had heard, that his supposed successor was already stronger than him and faster, but he was sure, the Nidaime Raikage was still formidable in speed and surely faster than him. Also, if he were to run now, the Raikage would just focus his attention on some other poor fellow at the front. There was not much to be gained by fighting the Raikage, Sakumo knew, at best, he could draw a bit of blood and win a few seconds for Kagami's men to deal a heavy blow or for the Hokage to get a few miles closer. But there was a lot to lose by running. Not just his pride. In worst-case-scenario, the Raikage would just catch up to him, kill him from behind and then be upon his comrades and murder more Konoha-nin in no time.

Sakumo had made up his mind, before he even knew. His hold on his Tanto tightened, his lightning Chakra crackled at his feed.

There was an angry scowl from the Raikage. "I've heard about you", he drawled. "You're that kid C told me about. The White Fang, they call you. I'm not going to fall for such easy trickery the way C did, kid."

"White Fang?" frowned Sakumo irritably and not quite understanding what the Raikage was talking about.

"Not important" drawled the Raikage. "You've killed quite a few of my men, I've heard. I'm going to kill you for it and nobody will ever care to hear that name again."

It dawned on Sakumo that 'The White Fang' was the name the Kumo-nin had apparently given him in those last few days. He didn't particularly care about it and before he could even think about whether or not it was a good name, he was already clashing with the Raikage. His lightning sharpened blade hit lightning enhanced fists. Somehow the Raikage used his Raiton like a Chakra barrier, a shield of sorts able to block even Sakumo's sharp blade. He felt a pang of desperation at the realization that he couldn't even cut through the Raikage's skin. It was a bit of a downer as he'd never failed to cut a surface no matter what. His Tanto had cut through enemy flesh, bone, armour and weapon alike, easily carved through boulders and trees, yet it did not manage to cut the Raikage.

He barely evaded a bone-crushing fist and while twisting away saw the Raikage form quick hand signs in the corner of his eyes. It was too fast for him to even guess what was coming so all he could do was take a few steps back and hope he wasn't hit. In fact, it had been a good idea to jump backwards as thunder struck just inches in front of his face where he had just stood. Sakumo took another step back.

His whole body was burning with anticipation and adrenaline. His nerves and muscles were tense, and he could hear his own blood rushing in his ears. He quickly processed information, much faster than he was used too (he'd somehow gotten closer to the Konoha shinobi's; the Kumo-nin were mostly keeping out of their way; there was a water dragon passing just a few feet over his head and dripping water on his shoulder) but he was still to oslow to do anything other than evade and block the Raikage's assaults. He barely managed a Fuuton technique to cut through another lightning attack before he was met with a viscous kick to the chest that almost killed him had he not instinctively stepped backwards cushioning some of the impact. Still, he was sure he heard his ribs crack and crunch.

Somehow, he managed to duck under the next kick and bring his blade up in time to catch the Raikage in the thigh. He actually cut through skin and muscle, but he didn't even reach the bone. It was a bit gratifying to hear the bigger man grunt from pain, anyway … or was it surprise?

He didn't have time to think about it, as he was flung over half the battle field and impacted on wet earth. He managed a few painful hand signs and raised an earth wall, before the same wall crumbled under another lightning attack. Sakumo rose to his feet all bloody and broken, but still able to fight and hold a few more seconds. His blade met a fist as hard as iron and he had not put enough chakra in the blade – or maybe he didn't have enough chakra left. The blade snapped in two with a metal sound that made his ears ring. He evaded backwards and hit a boulder or an earth wall or some other stony structure that he had no time to look at, as he ducked below another punch.

Suddenly he felt needles in his hand and didn't remember taking them out of his pouch but he through them anyway putting a bit of lightning chakra in them. There was another grunt and he thought he might have actually hit with one or two of the small weapons but there was no time to contemplate as he rolled out of the way of a kick that made the very earth crack on impact.

"You're starting to get annoying" grunted the Raikage stopping to catch a breath of air. "At least face me and don't just run around like a scared bunny."

Sakumo realized he could hardly stay upright anymore. He wheezed through broken ribs and blood in his mouth and even if he had something to say, he had barely enough air to stay conscious much less speak. He used the break the Raikage granted him, to put his broken sword away and draw a Kunai. The Hatake took a defensive position but he knew, he probably looked like a mess. He felt as if even a breeze of wind from the wrong direction could topple him over and then, he knew, he'd probably not be able to stand up again.

At least, he realized, he had managed to injure the Raikage quite a bit more than he had even dared to hope. There was blood running down his right leg, and that injury was visibly slowing him down. He had also been hit by a needle in the left forearm and by some other attack that Sakumo didn't quite remember, in the side.

Sakumo knew he had no chakra left. One last chance – maybe – to make a difference. He concentrated whatever he had left at his Kunai. A Fuuton-enhanced Kunai-blade. Not quite as sharp as his Tanto was, but Fuuton was stronger than Raiton and maybe with that he was able to pierce through the Raikage's lightning armour even if he had far less chakra left to attack. He had no strength nor chakra left to evade, he knew that. The Raikage was too fast for him. His next attack would hit. But maybe Sakumo could mount one last counter attack.

Unlike C, the Raikage was no idiot. "I see what you're doing" the black-haired man said. "Fuuton is stronger than Raiton. I know that. You think I'm that stupid that I'll fall for this?"

Sakumo grunted angrily. He waited for the Raikage to attack, but the elder man just grinned and waited.

"You young folks think just because you're fast, everything is about speed. You're dead on your feet. I don't even have to attack, I can just wait this out." The Raikage shrugged casually and strolled a single step closer.

Sakumo realized with a start, that the man was right. The Hatake's gaze was already shifting in and out of focus, the edges of his vision were blurring, and he could feel the Chakra at his Kunai slowly fizzle away. Before it could run out completely Sakumo through the Kunai with everything he had left.

There was a sound of surprise from the Raikage. Maybe he had hit, Sakumo dared to hope. Maybe, he had caught the Raikage off guard and managed to draw just a bit more blood. The man had been close enough to make it difficult to evade or catch a Kunai, even if he was one of the fastest men in the world. Still, Sakumo couldn't check. The moment he had thrown the Kunai and given away his last bits of chakra, his consciousness had given way to exhaustion. The last thing he heard was a familiar voice telling him he'd done a good job.

He thought, it was a considerate thing of his mind to imagine Sensei's voice in the last moments of his life.


	9. Dead Heroes

First things first:

I thought I had a Beta-Reader but haven't heard of him in a while ... So if you know a good and relyable Beta-Reader I'd appreciate it.

Also the last chapter has ended what I now call the Border-Crisis-Arc. There will be a few quieter chapters. I don't really know what to call the coming patch of Chapters. Since it's a Naruto-FF maybe I should just call it the Chunin-Exams-Arc :)

Also thanks to my two loyal reviewers MLLu and Uncle RJ Kitten. It's amazing having two people who come back for every new chapter each week.

 **Dead Heroes**

When he woke up again, the first thing he realized was that he was in entirely too much pain to be dead. He lost consciousness again only a few seconds after that realization.

Next thing he felt chakra signatures around him, that he could not quite place before falling asleep again.

He heard a loud voice he knew well enough that made him open his eyes and finally he managed to stay awake for longer than a few moments. It smelled of hospital and Sakumo wondered how long he'd been out to be already back in Konoha.

"I'm just looking for Grey", the loud voice said. "Give me a … no Orochi …. Orochimaru! Tell Sensei I'll be there in a minute! I'm going to look if Grey is … yes, of course Hatake, idiot!" There was an angry snort and the door to his room opened silently. A head of messy white hair backed into the room looking out into the corridor. "Ahaha, excuse me. I know this is a hospital. I'll be silent … more silent, okay. Sorry." Jiraiya was apparently talking to the hospital personnel before he managed to close the door behind him. "Damn that idiot almost got me kicked out of the hospital. Stupid Orochimaru!" He turned around abruptly and suddenly stopped with a start. "Oh, hey Grey!" cried the white haired and had apparently already forgotten that he had meant to keep quiet…er.

"Hi, Whitey" drawled Sakumo tiredly. "What problem do you have with Orochimaru, now?"

"Ah, nothing, nothing …" He was absently scratching his head. "You know a few of the nurses have complained that I've been … anyway Sensei was not amused. So, I'm to meet with him and apologize."

"You've been peeking again" said Sakumo annoyedly.

"Not true! Not my mistake I mistook the room. They gave me the wrong room number for your room, so it's not my fault I walked in one their changing rooms." He blushed a bit.

"Ah" made Sakumo doubtfully.

"Anyway, Grey, great to see you awake. Didn't think you'd make it for a while." Jiraiya was grinning and sitting down on one of the chair's nearby. His face got a bit more solemn when he mentioned Sakumo almost dying, but then he was back in his good spirits and casually lifting his legs to put his feed on another chair. "You're a madman you know! For challenging the Raikage."

"Didn't exactly challenge him. He ran into me" said Sakumo rubbing where the Kage had hit him the first time. It was still hurting. His entire body still felt pretty bad.

"Yeah? Could have fooled me. You know your teammates told the story of how you planned to attack the army all by yourself."

Oh, yeah … He remembered, his teammates. Just a second ago he was happy to see Jiraiya, now his smile died on Sakumo's face. "How … How is Hige? And the others?"

Jiraiya apparently saw his worries because he sobered up a bit, too. "Don't worry. Yashiro and Akane are just fine. Akane was a bit out of chakra and Yashiro had a few nasty cuts, but they've both left the hospital a few days ago. Hige's fine too. His room is just a few doors down, if you want to visit …" He paused. "Of course, you can't visit. You're in no shape to walk. Maybe, I can ask him to visit you. He's already back on his …"

"No don't", Sakumo interrupted. He remembered Blue dead and Hige's hurt and angry face. "I don't … He doesn't have to come here. I'm fine."

Jiraiya frowned at him. "What is it? I don't know you like that. Normally you'd jump at the chance to get a visitor. You know hospital-routine is boring, right? You don't even have a particularly hot nurse. Actually, if I remember correctly, you have a male nurse so … good looking, though. But wrong gender."

Sakumo scowled at that, but he didn't answer, so Jiraiya got serious again. "No, really. What is it? Why don't you want to see Hige?"

"It's nothing. He'll have enough on his plate dealing with his Ninken's death."

"He is quite depressed about that, sure" said Jiraiya almost a bit casual. "But that doesn't explain this. What is it, Grey?"

"Nothing. Stop poking me. You're annoying" cried Sakumo a bit tiredly. But apparently his tone or something on his face gave it away.

"Ah" made Jiraiya slowly. "You feel guilty?" He paused for a moment. "Why, though?"

Sakumo didn't answer, mortified enough that Jiraiya had figured that out.

"Nothing in Akane's or Yashiro's … or even Hige's report – for that matter – put any of the blame for Blue's and the Yamanaka-kid's death on you." Jiraiya thought for a moment. "Not that I remember at least. Your asshole teammate Yashiro made a few complaints, but nothing …"

"Don't call him that" bit Sakumo. Then he frowned. "Why? What did he say?"

Jiraiya thought for a moment. "Ah … I think something along the line of questionable decision making risking the mission's outcome. And that he thought, while your results were overall acceptable you could have done a lot better. Bunch of bullshit if you ask me. Sensei's pretty impressed with your team." Jiraiya waved his hand dismissively. "Anyway, you've been avoiding the question. Why would their death be your fault?"

Sakumo sighed, Jiraiya could be so annoyingly stubborn at times. Sometimes he wondered why he kept up with a friend like that. "It was my responsibility and I stepped in that trap. I could … I could smell it was a trap, all my instincts were tingling. But I just pushed it aside and … well, they died."

Jiraiya looked at him for a moment, then he frowned. "Why would you willingly step into a trap if you knew it was there?"

Sakumo shrugged. "It's not … It's not important. It's just … It's my fault so I don't understand why Hige wouldn't blame me."

"Maybe 'cause he's not an idiot, idiot."

Sakumo scowled indignantly.

"It's not your fault, Sakumo, okay? You did great out there. Everybody says so. Your team killed more Kumo-nin between you six than every other shinobi on the field this week. And most of your team survived. They didn't think any of you would come back, I've seen the mission details. That was a quintessential suicide mission. You aside, everybody thinks you've become some sort of hero." Jiraiya tried to get him to listen with a good-natured smile. "Even the Yamanaka-Clan, might I add. I mean, they are not happy with how it turned out with the kid, but they thought they were lucky they even got a body to bury."

Sakumo snorted at that. Kazuki, whom he had failed even more than Hige. "I would have recommended Kazuki for Jonin, if he had survived", he grumbled.

"Well, the Yamanaka-Clan will be happy to hear that. They already buried him. Akane-san already told them some of the stuff he did on your mission. They buried a hero."

"They are all heroes when they're dead" snorted Sakumo.

Jaraiya got a bit quiet at that. After a minute of solemn silence, he apparently decided it was past time they changed the topic. "Well, some get to be heroes while still alive. We have to talk about that, by the way."

"About what?" frowned Sakumo.

"That 'White Fang'-thing. It's quite a cool name, I get it, but you have to get them to change it. 'White' is kind of my thing. You're 'Grey' or silver for all I care. But 'White'? That's just confusing." Jiraiya pouted at him.

Sakumo couldn't help but laugh. "I didn't exactly choose the name", he admitted. "The Raikage told me. Hadn't even known about the whole thing before that."

"Yeah, well, make it stop" Jiraiya mockingly crossed his arms over his chest. "Anyway, I can't believe you've gained a nickname before me. It's just unfair."

"Stop whining" laughed Sakumo suddenly in a much better mood. "If you carry on the way you do, the only nick name you'll ever get will be … I don't know, White Pervert or Pervert-Toad. Pervy-Toad? Pervy-Toad-Sage? Pervy-Sage?"

"Stop it. That's not funny!" complained Jiraiya.

"Really, you should be glad for as long as you don't have a nickname. And I'm going to keep my nickname, thank you very much. It's badass. If I didn't know the Raikage hated me by now, I'd have to think about sending him a thank-you-note for…" He quieted at Jiraiya's look. "What is it?"

"The Raikage's dead" informed his friend. "Your Sensei killed him."

"Oh" said Sakumo, before properly understanding. "Oh, wow. I'll have to congratulate Kagami-Sensei. The Raikage was a beast."

"I know." Jiraiya said solemnly. Way too solemnly.

Sakumo frowned. "What is it? What happened after I lost consciousness? How long have I been out, anyway? I assumed we won and war could be prevented since I'm back here in Konoha and not … you know, dead. So why do you look as if it's the end of the world."

Jiraiya looked to the window quietly. Then he straightened a bit in his chair. "As far as I know, you've been out for almost two weeks. You got hit pretty bad. Kagami-Sensei and a few other Konoha-shinobi caught up to you when you lost consciousness and one of them brought you to the medics. Kagami took over your fight against the Raikage. He managed to kill him, but he was wounded, too. The Kumo-nin chose their Sandaime Raikage while still on the battlefield and he went straight for Kagami only a few hours later. When Sensei and my team arrived, Kagami was already … dying." Jiraiya ended. Sakumo stared at him disbelieving. "Hiruzen-Sen … The Hokage managed to throw them back and reinforce the peace treaty shortly after. We've kept the peace but …"

"But Kagami-Sensei is dead" said Sakumo almost numbly. Part of him had already gathered as much, he thought. He had always felt like Kagami's last words had been a good-bye to him. But somehow, he had assumed it was good-bye because Sakumo would die, not the other way around. "He saved my life" realized Sakumo after a moment of quiet.

"Not just yours. He saved our peace. Some call him the Peace Keeper now … Well, at least those that saw him fight. He died a hero."

"Yeah" murmured Sakumo. They all died as heroes. Dying, he thought, was the only way to ever truly become a hero and be remembered as such. Kazuki, if he hadn't died, they wouldn't have called him a hero. Maybe they'd have raised him to Jonin-rank, but they wouldn't have called him a hero, Sakumo knew. They didn't call any of the people that had survived heroes. Even he, though he had gained fame, a name and a legend … he was no hero. He certainly didn't feel like one. He remembered, when his brother had died, they had called him a hero, too. When his father had returned from the battlefield injured and crippled they praised him for his service and then they had all but forgotten about him and his deeds. As a shinobi, it seemed, you either died a hero or you lived to see your legend dwindle away and your heroism be forgotten.

"Ah" Jiraiya suddenly perked up after watching Sakumo's mood deteriorate for a few minutes. "Megumi-san is fine. I forgot to tell you, but apparently the Daimyo of Yu no Kuni had ordered she'd be treated nicely. He said he might ask for your service one day. 'You never know when it's a good thing to have a shinobi with a name such as yours indebted to him'" Jiraiya obviously imitated the voice of an old, brittle man. "The Hokage is a bit amused at your little letter."

Sakumo glared at Jiraiya. His cheeks suddenly heated with embarrassment. "The Hokage has seen the letter?"

"Oh, we all have" laughed Jiraiya. "'It pains me that this conflict has to be fought on your territory, but all we want is ensure the peace treaty signed between …'" Sakumo felt suddenly very nervous, when he heard his own words. "Man, Grey, I didn't know you were that god with history. I had no idea who, when and where that peace treaty was signed."

"Academy knowledge" admitted Sakumo quietly.

"Of course" shrugged Jiraiya who was just a year and a half older than Sakumo and had never visited the Academy.

"How did the Hokage take it?" asked Sakumo. "Me going all political", he added nervously.

"Ahaha" laughed Jiraiya. "I think he doesn't know whether to congratulate you for saving a teammate without ruining our foreign affairs or whether to hit you over the head with a stick for the 'shameless little boy you are'" Jiraiya laughed whole-heartedly and even Sakumo had to grin at the Hiruzen-impression. "But I think it helped that you made a name for yourself. The Daimyo of Yu no Kuni seems to be somewhat of a fan of yours. But you should really be ready to get some highly difficult S-Rank mission from him soon. Really, they'll probably completely overestimate your skill. Just because Kumo thinks you're S-Rank now doesn't mean you actually are, you know? So, if he wants you to do something you're not good enough for. Don't be shy, Grey. I'm always willing to help." Jiraiya patted him on the head as if he were a small pre-Genin.

Sakumo frowned, then something else came to mind. "You said Yashiro had a few complains."

"Forget that idiot" bit Jiraiya instantly.

"Yeah, yeah. I know what problems he had during the mission. He made it quite vocal. Anyway, will there be an interrogation in this?" He didn't really know whether he'd be able to deal with that just now. He'd have to make amends to Hige and the Yamanaka-Clan and deal with his own losses and … probably talk to Sensei's son, because he felt like he should. He didn't really want to deal with an investigation of his decision making.

"Are you mad, Grey? You've been hit over the head, haven't you? Of course, you have, I know your injuries. No, I told you, you did great. The Hokage is 100% on your side. Even if Yashiro wanted an investigation which he doesn't – thank god, he's not that stupid … But even if he would have, I don't think they'd do more than look at your mission report and dismiss it – by the way you should hand in that report soon. Akane-san did it in your absence, but you know, team leader duties and stuff." Sakumo nodded slowly, then he scowled.

"Then why are you so mad at Yashiro. I get that he made a few complaints, but it's hardly the first time and you never called him an asshole, before."

"Ah" sighed Jiraiya, then scratched his head. "You now … he might or might not have requested to be put on a different team."

Sakumo stared for a moment, then blinked. "He did what?"

"Yeah, idiot that he is. Thinks he should have his own command by now. Sensei thinks he's too young for his own team – never mind both you and me already had a few leading roles that age, anyway … Sensei thinks he's too young, so he asked to be put on another team."

"But" sputtered Sakumo, "our teamwork is great."

"Yeah, we told him that. Even Orochimaru told him what an idiot he is to think he'll ever get equal results with a different team. But really … you shouldn't be mad, Sakumo. You'll find a different guy to fill his role. He'd always been the easiest to replace – despite the Sharingan and all. It's him who'll regret that. Without you and Akane around he's dead average. Can't believe he doesn't get that." Jiraiya started rambling a bit nervously. "Actually, I just think he's jealous. Wants to have his own team and now you have that cool nickname. I still think you should go for something other than 'white' but it is a badass name. He's just jealous. Always was an arrogant little prick."

"You never liked him" grumbled Sakumo.

"Yeah, and I was right. Not many people, I don't like. He's one of them." Jiraiya snorted.

"Well, I guess Team Kagami is truly and thoroughly dead now. No Team leader, no Yashiro. Somehow, we dropped from 50% Uchiha to no Uchiha. That's a bit of a downer."

"You could always ask for another Uchiha to be put on your team" grumbled Jiraiya. "Or you just keep Hige and Megumi. You'd get a team all for yourself. Team … Grey Fang!"

Sakumo rolled his eyes. "You're assuming Hige wants to be put on my Team." He raised his hand to halt Jiraiya before he could say something. "I mean, even if he weren't mad at me, he still lost his Ninken. Most Inuzuka I know, once they lost their companion their careers are pretty much over. Sure, if he wants to, I'll take him. But he's twelve … chances are he'll just take on another career path, instead of struggling to learn an entirely new fighting style without Blue."


	10. A Moment of Quiet

**A Moment of Quiet**

Sakumo had to remain in hospital for another two weeks. Broken ell and spoke on his left hand, three broken fingers, one broken rib, two more ribs cracked. A fractured shoulder blade, a cracked skull, cuts and bruises everywhere. While he'd been unconscious even one of his lungs had collapsed, once. The medics hadn't thought he'd survive for a while. But he did, though he took his time to recover.

He had slept through most of the burials, but he was conscious enough for the great memorial ceremony, after which the names of the heroes who had died both in Ame against Iwagakure and on the border to Yu no Kuni against Kumogakure, were engraved into the big memorial stone. He went to the ceremony on crutches though some of the nurses were laughing at him, telling him he should put himself into a wheelchair and stop with this charade. His legs where the only parts of his body that were not completely ruined and the reason he couldn't stand very well was not his legs but his over-all hurting and exhausted body. He thought they were ridiculous. He could stand very well on his own, thank you very much. He just needed the crutches to hold on to something and balance himself. Still, he was glad that Akane was there next to him at the memorial service in case he'd topple over.

He didn't, thankfully, that would have just been embarrassing and he'd have never lived it down.

Another few days later he was positively giddy and asked Akane during one of her visits if she could get them a mission. It could be a D-Rank for all he cared he just needed something to do. Next thing he knew, the Hokage himself was standing in his tiny hospital room hitting him over his head with his hospital file. He warned him, if he asked for a mission again, before he was cleared by the hospital he'd be doing D-Rank missions for the rest of his teenage years. Sakumo was annoyed at that and bored out of his mind, but he didn't dare risk it. When Sakumo still complained he needed to do something Hiurzen Sarutobi unloaded two carts of Paperwork in his room and told him to sort out mission reports. Apparently Sakumo's little venture into foreign politics with the Daimyo of Yu no Kuni had simultaneously amused and annoyed the Hokage enough to make him deal with the more boring sides of leading the village.

If he ever thought D-Rank missions the likes of 'find the stray cat' or 'feed the dogs for the sick old lady' were boring he now found out that reading reports about those missions was even worse. Really, he'd rather do nothing. Still he meticulously sorted through D- and C-Rank mission reports writing out names of shinobi who had had trouble with different tasks, looking for the Jonin-Senseis ratings of their Genin-students, writing out which teams had had which missions, whether they had met problems or hindrances and whatever the Jonins had to say about them. He also wrote what the employees of the individual missions had to say about whether they were satisfied and if they'd payed on time.

It was a tiring task and by the end of the third day he knew that an Uchiha Chunin called Fugaku Uchiha and grandson of the current clan leader, had all the potential to become the next great shinobi of that clan. He also knew, that the heir to the Inuzuka-clan was quite the trouble maker. He found out, that Hiruzen-sama's eldest son had apparently just made Genin at the tender age of seven and was in a team with the 11-year-old Suzuka Nara and Hyuuga Hiashi, the young heir of the Hyuuga-clan. They were doing a marvellous job plucking weeds, only both the Sarutobi and the Hyuuga apparently thought the work was below them.

He was bored even worse than before and happy whenever his little sister came around and asked him for tips on her upcoming Chunin-Exams.

"I thought I could use father's chakra sword. You know?" She plummeted on the edge of his bed in annoyance. "But the smiths say it'll take a month to fix it."

"I'm just glad they can fix it." Sakumo grunted. When the Raikage had broken his family heirloom he hadn't had the time to think about it, but after waking up in his hospital and finding the sword still broken at his bedside table … it had been a bit of a shocker.

"Yeah, sure. Me too, Anija. Glad, everything worked out the way it did, and you didn't die, and the sword is fixable and everything" she hit him in the ribs which made him grunt in pain. He exaggerated a bit on purpose. His ribs were mostly fine by now, but seeing her blanch and take her hand back with a squeaked "God, I'm sorry, Niisan!" was worth the charade.

"Anyway, it would've been so cool" Sanae turned back to the topic. "I mean with my white hair and a white chakra sword. You know what they'll think!?"

Sakumo grunted in understanding. "They'll think you're the White …"

"They'll think I'm the White Fang, damn right they are!" she interrupted raising her fists in the air.

He couldn't help but smile. He hadn't really thought about that part, when he had first found out about his new nickname. But his little baby-sister apparently admired him all the more for it. "Well, then maybe it's better that way" smiled the older Hatake. "You know there will probably be a Kumo-Team. You know, to fix relations after the … the conflict." He hesitated. He didn't quite know what to call that short period. He had killed dozens of Kumo-nin in a single weak, he had lost comrades and a Sensei and he was still confined to the hospital room. He still had nightmares. But they were warned not to call it a war. So, if it hadn't been war, what had it been? A slip-up in peace-relations? He was a bit pissed at the Hokage and the newly promoted Raikage tiptoeing around the subject acting as if nothing had happened when Sakumo still remembered those bloody days as if they'd been yesterday. Everything to keep the peace, he thought bitterly, even if the peace was worth shit if everybody thought he could break it as soon as one of the parties involved showed a moment of weakness. What was the worth in a peace treaty, when they attacked as soon as Konoha was backed into a corner, anyway? He signed, not wanting to burden his young sister with these thoughts.

"I don't care" she pouted in a way that reminded Sakumo of their brother. The brother she had hardly even met. He didn't think Sanae remembered their older brother. The one that had died in war. "They shouldn't have attacked us, then" she crossed her arms defiantly.

Sakumo couldn't help but ruffle her hair. He frowned. "What did you do to your hair?"

"I cut it."

"Yeah, I see that. You look like me in tiny."

"I'm not tiny!" she blurted petulantly. He raised an eye brow. Was this … hero worship? That was just embarrassing … but also a bit cute. He had worshipped their brother just like that, he remembered.

"Anyway, try and be nice to those Kumo-guys, yeah?"

"They say the Raikage's son is going to come too. Apparently, he's about my age. They say he's really good. Maybe we'll re-enact your fight" she quipped.

"Yeah, yeah" grumbled Sakumo. "I heard, he was … Wait, what? Please don't!" He sighed. "Look, this is really important, okay? It's to keep the peace. If you go out there and challenge the Raikage's son just because you're my little sister … that's not going to help. I'm an S-Rank criminal in their books."

Sanae started, then crossed her thin arms indignantly. "You're no criminal. You've just been protecting our village. They should know that, right?" She looked a bit insecure.

"Sure, they know. But … You know, I killed quite a few of their people. They won't ask the Hokage for my head, because of politics and stuff. But that doesn't mean they like me much. So, be nice, okay?" He looked in her dark brown eyes. Unlike him, she had inherited their mother's eyes. Her hair was just a touch darker. More grey than white. Jiraiya would call them both 'grey' but Sakumo's hair was quite a bit brighter.

"Okay, Anija. I'll be nice if they are nice. I still need a white blade or something like that."

Sakumo grunted in surrender. So that's what it was about, she wanted him to buy her a new blade in the arms and ninja tools shop. It wouldn't be quite the same as their family heirloom. But he was sure they had a few white coloured chakra blades. Well, whatever …

"I though you're making your own money now" he mocked.

"I'm just a Genin" she stuck her tongue out at him. "I make enough to come by, but that stuff is expensive."

"So, you already looked at the shop how much it costs …" Of course, she had. "Do they have good stuff?"

She shrugged. "Not quite as good as the original but good enough. Not that easy to copy our heirloom."

"To … wait, original? They have copies of our family-tanto?" He stared.

"Oh, yeah, you didn't know." She shrugged. "Almost all of my friends try to get one. You know, quite a few of our shinobi saw you fight the Raikage." She stabbed into empty air and Sakumo felt his cheeks go hot with embarrassment. Oh God, no. She looked at his big eyes and laughed loudly. "What, Anija? You really didn't know? It's legendary. There aren't that many people our age that have faced a Kage. And a Genin can't exactly imitate Jiraiya-ji. No giant toads around."

Sakumo groaned. "I hate it when you call him Jiraiya-ji. He's barely older than me."

"Yeah, but he's got all white hair."

"And you have grey hair" he reminded her, not sure if he should be exasperated or annoyed.

"It's silver." She pouted.

"No, sorry. Mine is silver, yours is grey." He laughed at her insulted scowl. "But still … You know, I lost, right? To the Raikage, I mean."

"Yeah, well. You're here and he's dead." She smiled proudly. "Pretty clear cut to me."

"That was Kagami-Sensei" he reminded her a bit darkly. But then he shrugged. "Whatever, take the money for the chakra blade. You know where we keep the money. I don't even know, why you ask me, anymore." He was pretty sure, she'd have just pouted at him as long as it took for him to give in and if he didn't, annoy him to the depths of hell and back.

"Well, it's your money" she reminded him grinning broadly.

"Well most of it was dad's inheritance, anyway." He shrugged "It's yours, too."

"You're the best Anija!"

One week later he could finally leave the hospital. The Hokage was fuzzing around him for a moment, mocking him for his great work with the mission reports and joking he could get a permanent desk job at the Hokage office if he ever decided that active duty wasn't quite his thing after all. Sakumo tried not to sound too rude when declining.

He took a small C-Rank mission immediately. One that would keep him close to the village, so he'd be back before Sanae's Exams entered the final phase. He'd actually planned to go alone and was somewhat surprised when a nervous Hige asked him to join.

The mission was an easy Job. Killing a few wild animals that were roaming around a local farm threatening people and livestock and trampling the harvest. They were quickly finished and back on route to Konoha.

Hige, he realized, did not blame him for Blue's death. But he didn't quite admire Sakumo anymore, either. Which was a good thing, Sakumo thought. He had enough of being admired from his little sister and her teammates. But Hige also wasn't quite the same. He was silent and solemn and not at all the enthusiastic boy Sakumo remembered. By the end of their trip, Hige revealed it might have been his last mission. He thought about training Ninken, or maybe start an entirely new carrier not related to his prior work as a shinobi. He didn't want to fight anymore. He didn't know, if he could even if he wanted. Most of his ninja arts had just become redundant now that Blue was gone, and he didn't think he'd ever manage to train and trust a second dog the way he had trained and trusted Blue. It was a sad thing, Sakumo thought. Hige was only twelve and he surely had all the time in the world to train a dog to the point he had trained Blue. He didn't argue against Hige's decision though. Maybe, that was a mistake. Maybe, Hige had wanted him to give him a reason to go on. But that only occurred to the Hatake much later when they had already parted ways and Sakumo was on his way to eat barbeque with Jiraiya and his team and ask if they had news about the Chunin Exams.

There was no news about Sanae, yet. Apparently, this year someone from the Analysis Team of the Intelligence Division headed the first part of the exam. It made Sakumo think of Kazuki, the comrade he had lost who had been part of that division. He didn't know what kind of test that man would put forward, but Jiraiya said, they were already on it for hours and expected to need another three to four hours. Sakumo just grunted and served himself something to eat.

"Back when I made Chunin they had that creepy guy from the sealing squad." Jiraiya laughed.

"I heard" said Sakumo. "I was still in the Academy. But even we heard about your freak out."

"He, Grey!" Jiraiya cried petulantly. "You would've freaked out too. I was just nine years old and they showed me that huge seal and told us it would blow up in 30 seconds and take the entire village with it. You would've freaked out, too."

"You should've known they'd never risk blowing up Konoha", Orochimaru remarked snidely. "They were Konoha-shinobi too."

"I heard you summoned a giant frog to swallow the whole thing … or rather you tried." Sakumo grinned evilly.

Jiraiya sputtered. Tsunade laughed out loud. "Tried is more like it. He didn't quite control the Kuchiyose, yet. We had just started learning and somehow the idiot thought if he didn't know what else to do, he'd just use the newly learnt technique and take it from there. And then … And then a … a …" She burst out laughing.

"Yeah, yeah" grumbled Jiraiya. "We all know. A tadpole appeared." He blushed dark red. "No, need to blurt it out to everybody."

Sakumo hit him on the shoulder but couldn't quite help laughing with Tsunade.

"If it hadn't been for Orochimaru's quick thinking we wouldn't have made it", Tsunade admitted making Jiraiya roll his eyes.

"What about you, Sakumo-san?" Orochimaru asked after a while. "I never asked about your Chunin-Exams." He shrugged. "I guess, I never cared enough to ask, anyway."

"Wasn't that interesting either", Sakumo admitted. "We had some guys former ANBU taking the Exams. Made us think it was just an easy written test." Orochimaru raised an eyebrow. At those first tests there was always a catch, they all knew, they were never quite what they were made out to be. Sakumo shrugged. "When we handed in our sheets, he'd give us a scroll. He told us it was our personal data, remarks from the examiner and other information that we were supposed to hand to the next examiner. Of course, we were told not to look inside. But half of them were booby trapped and turned into flames a few minutes later. Those with the bad luck to get a booby-trapped scroll and not realize what it was, before it blew up, were kicked out of the Exams. And of course, the whole team with them."

Orochimaru nodded smiling. "So, half luck, half skill."

"Did yours blow up?" Tsunade asked interestedly.

Sakumo shrugged. "Yeah, sure. I'm not the lucky guy. But I smelled it burning just a second before it blew up in my hand. I threw it away just in time. Apparently, they had created the trap in a way, that it would leave colour at the participants hands holding it, so they just checked if the hands were clean. I got paint all over my jacket to be honest, but I just changed clothes. So, lucky after all, I guess." He grinned. He tried to remember his exams six years ago. "Yashiro's scroll was manipulated too. But he just saw through it with the Sharingan."

"Those eyes are pretty useful" Orochimaru nodded more to himself. "Sometimes I'm a bit envious that even some idiot Uchiha have it. If at least it were exclusive to the few special ones." He grunted and took some vegetables from the brazier.

Three hours later they went to where the Chunin Exams were held. Sakumo watched some Genin trickle out of the building with long and tired faces. He was a bit worried for his sister. Sanae was not the type to sit quietly for hours.

Still, he needn't have worried, he found out soon enough, when Sanae came bursting through the doors with her team in tow. The other's seemed tired and a bit annoyed but she was all giddy and happy. It made him smile.

"Anija!" she yelled in his direction.

He waved back, tucking his head a bit between he shoulders not really wanting to attract attention. It didn't quite work, as one of the Konoha boys, a 13-year-old, pointed at him and mumbled. "That's the White Fang." And soon that nickname was whispered around the whole place in front of the Exam's building.

"How'd it go?" asked the Sakumo not trying to hide anymore, now that everyone knew he was here anyway. One of Sanae's teammates looked at him with those huge eyes as if he were the Hokage himself.

"Great. They gave us so much information throughout the day and I was the only one in the team, who understood." She was so excited and spoke so fast he hardly kept up. "You know, you told me to look at who'd hold the exams, so I knew what they wanted. You remember, don't you? You always said that. That there was always a catch somewhere in the first test. Not just a written test. So, I kept my eyes open. He was from Analysis, you know, so I had to analyse everything they said. It was really difficult, because they were saying so much, and it took hours …"

"What? What did they make you do?" He frowned at his hyperactive sister. "Did they give you coffee?" He looked at her teammates.

The older of the two boys rolled his eyes exasperated. "She thought she shouldn't miss anything, so she ate energy pills to keep her wits up."

Sakumo frowned at that. "You know you're not to eat those, unless strictly necessary" he grunted.

"Yeah, sure. But it was necessary. We would have lost otherwise. Tell him, guys. We wouldn't have made it if we couldn't have managed to keep up. Almost nobody made it. There are only ten teams left."

"True", one of her teammates conceded. "She saved us." He shrugged.

Sakumo frowned. He had already guessed that it would be extra difficult this year as there were so many more participating. Aside from the Konoha-teams, they had teams from Ame, Suna, Iwa, Kumo and even a team from Yugakure participating. All the nations that had been involved in last month's conflicts.

"So, what was it all about?"

"Well, you know, Anija. It wasn't important at all what you answered on the sheet. The only thing important was to analyse the information they gave you and decide which proctor to give the sheet in the end. There were 10 proctors but seven of them were 'enemies'. Saburo almost gave his sheet to an enemy." She glared at her tired teammate.

Sakumo nodded quietly. "Do you have time between now and the next part?"

"It starts tomorrow" said Saburo yawning.

"Great." He grabbed his sister by the shoulder. "We're going to train. Your teammates can come, too, but you definitely need to blow off some steam."

"Awesome!" cried one of her teammates while Saburo just glared at him as if Sakumo had just ruined his night's rest. Sakumo smiled apologetically.

They started a little Taijutsu exercise … and really, either his sister and her two teammates had gotten exponentially better in those last few months, or he was thoroughly out of shape after his hospital stay. He assumed it was the latter, as even with the Genin improving he shouldn't be pushed so hard by a bunch of Genin, especially since Saburo was obviously tired and not really into it.

He'd have to up his training workload, he decided.

Fortunately, the Genin themselves were too tired, or not quite able to realize how much they pushed him.

The next day, after he dropped his sister off at one of the Jonin Training grounds for part two of the exams, which was estimated to last about five days – which made him a bit nervous – he was summoned to the Hokage tower.

When he arrived at the Hokage office, Akane was already there and two other shinobi he only knew from afar. One he recognized as an Uzumaki-Chunin, the other he thought was well-known for his Kenjutsu, but he wasn't exactly sure.

The Hokage informed him that they were to be his new Team. Sakumo warily glanced at the two Chunin. They were both carrying swords.

"So, we're going to be a full-on Kenjutsu-unit?", he asked jokingly which elicited a scowl from the Hokage.

"I thought they'd fit good to you. And they can learn from you" the Hokage argued.

Sakumo raised his hands in surrender. "I'm not complaining, Hokage-sama" smiled the Hatake. "Just saying, it'll be weird for Akane to be the only non-swordfighter in the team."

There was a small frown from the Hokage as if to judge, whether the Hatake was mocking him. Then he sighed and seemed to let the thing go. "Well then … I'll give you the files in a minute, Sakumo-kun. You have an A-Rank mission."

"A-Rank?" asked the Hatake deflating a bit. He had just realized he was not up to par and needed more training and now … well, at least it was no S-Rank, he assumed.

"And there will be no payment for you", the Hokage smiled evilly.

Okay, that was weird. "I'm sure, that's not common practice" he tried testily.

"No, it is not. But apparently, you promised the employee to pay a debt." He handed Sakumo the mission scroll, who already had a sinking feeling he knew what this was about.

In fact, … "The Daimyo of Yugakure," he said frowning. "At least it didn't take long" he added a bit half-heartedly. "It's always best to get debts out of the way as soon as possible, right?"

"It is" agreed Sarutobi. "You'll acquaint each other, I presume." He smiled apologetically. "I'm sorry, but I fear you'll have to miss the second part of your sister's exams."

Sakumo nodded shrugging. He knew, had he not been injured he probably wouldn't have been around during her exam times at all.

Uzumaki Izumi was a bit of a hot head in battle, he'd learn soon. It came as a bit of a surprise, as she was normally shy and uncharacteristically quiet for an Uzumaki. But as soon as fighting broke out she'd be right there in the middle of it. Her fighting style was a bit too straight forward for his liking as she was easily goaded into making mistakes. On the other hand, it helped a lot working with her, as he always knew, where she'd be and what she'd do next. Sometimes, she had a few weird ideas in terms of strategy but there was nothing too crazy. He'd have to remind her not to run into every single trap there was, but that aside he could learn to work with her. She also had sheer massive chakra reserves. More than even Yashiro. And she was decent with sealing and healing. Clan-perks, he knew. He didn't quite know whether to see her as a front fighter or a supporter. The first time he mentioned that as a sealer and medic she should remain in the back letting the others fight, she had just nodded shyly and still, during the next confrontation she was right there in the thick of it.

Gekkou Kenoah was a quiet lad who expertly combined Genjutsu with swordfighting. It was an interesting combination he hadn't seen, before. Kenoah informed him that it was a fighting style passed down in his family. There were two versions of it. He called it the Konoha's Dance of the Moon and the Dance of the Sun. A beautiful thing, but not quite as effective as Sakumo would have hoped. He feared Kenoah faced the same problem Sakumo faced as a Swordfighter: their bodies were not built strong enough to withstand major blows. But where Sakumo compensated with speed and Ninjutsu prowess, Kenoah tried to compensate with Genjutsu. He created Genjutsu-Clones of himself to distract an opponent. A good idea. But no help against a wide scale Ninjutsu counter. Fortunately, Kenoah knew his own weakness and kept away from those opponents as good as he could. He was a quiet man with a somewhat dry and scathing sense of humour. Sakumo soon learned that Kenoah could be quite insulting without meaning too.

Overall, he was okay with his two teammates, but he was happy Akane stayed part of his team. Before they started on their mission he gave them a day to train their teamwork. It wasn't quite his old team, he thought sadly, but it was alright.

They had a bodyguard mission. The Daimyo wished to see the damage done to his lands during the fighting. There were some bandits and rogue Konoha and Kumo-shinobi plaguing the area. At least that was the information from the mission scroll but Sakumo didn't know how much of it was true. He believed the tales about the bandits, but he didn't think the war had been long or bloody enough to make so many shinobi go rogue. Maybe there was a group of Missing-nin trying to use the post-fighting-chaos? Whatever it was, they'd soon find out. After visiting his own villages and towns he wanted to see the finals of the Chunin-Exams in Konoha where one of the teams from Yugakure was participating. They were to protect him on the way to Konoha, during his time in Konoha and on his way back.

He didn't think there would be much trouble. As far as he knew Yu no Kuni was in peace, and he had never heard of the Daimyo having a particularly big group of enemies. Of course, as the Daimyo of his country one could never know, but the bandits and maybe rogue ninja aside he didn't think they'd face much opposition.

As expected, they arrived at Yugakure within two days with hardly any problems. They'd stumbled upon a group of thieves in a tiny village and had captured two of the criminals and left them to the authorities. It had been a good chance to get a good look at how his team would work in hostile situations … then again, those small-time thieves weren't really a challenge for any trained shinobi.

It turned out, the Daimyo of Yu no Kuni actually was a big fan of the White Fang. It was really embarrassing and annoying and it made it a bit difficult to fulfil his mission to his best knowledge if his employee hardly ever stopped talking to him. There was not much more for him to do, other than sniff the air once in a while and have his team take care of the scouting part of the mission, while he himself took care of the 'entertaining' part that he hadn't quite expected. It felt a bit degrading really. He was a full-fledged Jonin of the Hidden Leaf. A trained and sharpened tool of war. And here he was entertaining the Daimyo of Yugakure with what essentially came down to party tricks.

He didn't even really understand it. Yu no Kuni had their own shinobi. Not many, but some quite formidable he had heard. So of course, the Daimyo had probably a dozen underlings that could show him those tricks. It wasn't like he was asking for much. Any academy student could fulfil those quests. Maybe it was the special thing, that it was Sakumo Hatake, the White Fang, doing the Bunshins and Henges. He was still not used to his newfound fame. He tried to remain patient and friendly and good-tempered. It wasn't all that difficult. The Daimyo was not a bad person after all. He was really a bit like a grown child. And Sakumo could degrade himself for children. He had an annoying little sister he had mostly raised himself, after all.

He was only further reminded of dealing with his sister, when the Daimyo made him meet his family. His wife was a stern woman who apparently shared Sakumo's opinion that all this was a bit laughable and his tricks not at all anything special. But his two children were really cute. He had a daughter of five and a son of six … and they loved 'Saku-ji' and Sakumo felt like an old man not like the 17-year-old he was. They made him show off his white chakra sword and he was happy he had done as his sister and bought one of the imitations from the weapons store. He didn't mention that it wasn't his actual sword and they didn't suspect anything anyway. It was white and if he pushed his chakra in it, it was glowing and that was all they cared about.

The kids made the entire mission a lot more fun, but also a lot more difficult for him to do his job. With their pitiful pouts, they basically forced him to carry them on his shoulders or piggyback. Akane stifled a laughter every time she saw him with the little ones. She made him blush furiously, when she suggested he'd do great with kids of his own. Kenoah was not quite as considerate in his mocking. He didn't insult the kids, fortunately, but he commented that if he was playing pack mule anyway, Sakumo could carry their stuff as well. Sakumo glowered at the Chunin and realized it was truly difficult to be the captain of subordinates older than him. Kenoah wouldn't talk that way to an elder, he thought. He was half of a mind to remind him of his place, when the Daimyo's little daughter on his shoulders patted his head and pouted at Kenoah.

"He's not a mule" muttered the kid. "He's a wolf."

"A wolf?" asked Kenoah, "how so? I think he has the colouring of a donkey."

Sakumo rolled his eyes at that.

"But donkeys don't have fangs" she replied with a haughty look. "Obviously."

"Obviously" repeated Sakumo pointedly. "Or have you ever seen a donkey with fangs, dove?"

Kenoah grew a bit red around the ears which made Sakumo smile.

"Why did you call him 'dove', Saku-ji?", she asked confused.

"He's called Kenoah" explained Sakumo smiling. "It means 'white dove'."

"Ah, that's beautiful! But he looks so moody for a white dove. They should have called him grumpy duck."

Sakumo laughed loudly. Kenoah sputtered indignantly. "What do you think, grumpy duck?"

Kenoah glowered at him, but then he perked up a bit. "Oddly fitting, but I don't particularly like water."

"You don't?" Sakumo asked wonderingly.

"That explains it!" exclaimed the Daimyo's daughter. "If I were a duck but I didn't like water, I'd be grumpy, too."

Sakumo laughed before raising an eyebrow at the Chunin "Anything?"

"Nothing. The road is safe. Some burnt field, some remains of landslides … a few wild rabbits. Nothing dangerous."

Sakumo nodded and turned back to the Daimyo's carriage.

A few hours later, Kenoah came back with the news that Akane had found a group of apparent rogue shinobi. Sakumo at once placed the Daimyo's kids with their parents in the carriage and ordered Kenoah to stay with them.

Soon after that, they found out, that it was a group of Missing-nin from Suna that had migrated here after the war. They were mostly Chunin level and Sakumo, Izumi and Akane dispatched of them quickly. They caught three of the five alive and handed them to local authorities. Sakumo wasn't quite sure if the local police were able to handle shinobi prisoners, but it wasn't exactly his concern. Their mission was to protect the Daimyo not to clean his lands of criminals.

The whole 'entertaining the Daimyo and his family' part aside the mission went much like expected. There were a few bandits to take care of and another group of Nuke-nin, this time actual renegade Kumo-nin. Again, they were only Chunin level, if at all, and no real threat to Sakumo's team. Sakumo suspected they had turned and fled when confronted with the first decently strong opponent and hadn't dared to go home and stand trial for desertion. Those few incidents aside, the mission was almost boring. He couldn't believe this qualified as A-Rank. But then again, of course it did. Protecting important people was always high rank, even if no danger was expected. After all, for the ANBU to stand outside the Hokage's office protecting him 24/7 was a special A-Rank mission upgraded to S-Rank in times of crises even if the Hokage was far removed from any sort of real danger.

"You know, Hatake-san" started the Daimyo on the fourth day of their trip through Yu no Kuni. "If we had shinobi of your calibre or just a few more, we wouldn't have let Kumo just pass through our lands." The man had drunken a bit and was slurring slightly. "Believe me, it's not like we're just fawning over the Raikage. But you know, how it is …" He sighed tiredly and Sakumo could smell the sake in his breath. "For us small nations, we really can't do anything against the giants. Would be the end of us, mhm." There was an angry scowl on his face and Sakumo wondered, whether the man had forgotten that Sakumo was from a big nation as well. "Not like we want to be pushed around, or anything. But have no choice … no, no." Sakumo nodded and felt a bit embarrassed. He'd rather the man kept quite before he said something Sakumo couldn't just unhear. "Sometimes I think it would be better if it just all be gone, you know, Hatake-san? I mean the Raikage, and the Hokage and Kumo and Konoha and all the other big nations, just …" He made a hand movement showcasing a tiny explosion. "Poof! Gone, you know." Sakumo trembled with something he didn't quite know. His skin was tickling. The man in front of him talked to him as if he were a friend and spoke of the destruction of his home town. It set Sakumo's senses on edge. The man sighed and again Sakumo could smell the sake in his breath. "You're still young, you know. And you're a good boy", he kept talking. "But one day, you'll see. I think, you'll see."

"See what?" Sakumo couldn't stop himself from asking.

"Hm?" The Daimyo seemed confused for a second. "War, I mean. Have you fought in the big war, Hatake-san?" Sakumo shook his head. "Ah, good, good. It wasn't a beautiful thing. You know they only tell you about the heroes. You're Hokage. The … what was it? The Shodaime. Hashirama Senju. My father always told me, he was a good man. A man of peace. But that was before he let his troupes through these lands you know. A man of peace but dangerous." The Daimyo trembled. "Deadly … I know. You're too young to remember, but you must have heard. They say he raised some of these forests from barren rocks." He paused. "What was I talking about?"

"War" helped Sakumo quietly.

"Ah, yes. They only ever tell you about the heroes and the glorious battles. I think they do … I don't know how it is in Konoha of course, but in Yu they only teach of those. Because, you know … Nobody would be willing to fight in the next war, if we taught them about the horrors."

"The next war?" asked Sakumo. "I thought we prevented the war."

"There's always going to be a next war, you know. The big nations will start again and then this land will burn once more." He trembled and drank another sip of sake. Sakumo thought there was madness in his eyes. "Will you be there then, Hatake-san?" Sakumo didn't know what to say. "Will you burn our lands, then? Again?"

Sakumo stared for a second. "I …", he swallowed. "I didn't want to damage your territory." He tried. Of course, they had burned some trees and dug up some earth, but he hadn't thought they had caused any lasting damage. At least they had fought away from the villages.

"Of course, of course." The drunken Daimyo nodded. "I know you didn't. You wrote me. Have you forgotten?" Sakumo shook his head in a silent 'no'. "I just keep wondering. When the next war breaks out, were will you be?" He shook his head suddenly. "No, no … Of course, you'd be with Konoha, right? You don't really have a choice either." He glanced at Sakumo but Sakumo had the feeling the Daimyo didn't quite see him anymore. "So, I guess, when the next war breaks out, it'll just depend on … on … I don't know … fate, maybe? If the next time you're here you're here to fight with us or against us, to kill us or to protect us."

Sakumo felt chilly. He kept himself from wrapping his arms around himself. A shinobi did never show his weakness, but he felt on edge. "Don't worry", he said dryly. "There won't be a war, soon."

The man looked at him sadly. "Just means, the next war will break out when my son rules. It's not exactly a consolation. Maybe by then you'll have your own family, too. You know, you're a good kid", he suddenly seemed older than he was. "I could read it in your letter. The one with your comrade. You know, I thought, if there were more people like you in the big nations, men who cared for the people next to them and were willing to degrade themselves in order to keep them save instead of leading them to war in order to enrich themselves. It was just a naïve hope, you see. And that boy, Hige, he was a good kid, too. I found myself thinking that, if the new generation of Konoha-nin was like that, then maybe there was hope for peace. But then I remembered that it's never that easy. Your Shodaime was like that too, once. Even more so … He actually talked about peace and did something for it. Built that village of yours for the sake of peace. And then he took his army and marched through these lands in the greatest war the world had ever seen." There was a wistful smile on his tired face. "It was really ironic, if you ask me. For it was his brother – the cold one who never talked much and never seemed very likeable who ended that war. But it's just one of those sad tales, too." The Daimyo looked at him sadly. "For your Nidaime was attacked and murdered trying to make peace with Kumogakure. It wasn't too far from here actually. They murdered your Hokage in these woods trying to make peace and there has never actually been peace ever since."

Sakumo understood slowly. "You think there will never be peace?"

The man in front of him shrugged tiredly. "I thought about … how everything would be better if the big nations were just gone. But then they'd just leave chaos in their wake. And more death."

There was a silent pause. "I think you should sleep a bit" offered Sakumo after a while.

"I should. It would be better to sleep than to keep on rambling to a man I barely know." There was a wistful smile again. Sakumo didn't know, whether the man had agreed to go to sleep or not, but there wasn't much arguing anyway as the man fell asleep still sitting where he was.

The next day there was an awkward silence between them for most of the day. Towards sunset the Daimyo left his carriage and came up to Sakumo.

"Hatake-san? Do you have a moment?" When Sakumo nodded he led the Konoha-nin a bit away from the others. "Will they be able to hear us?" asked the Daimyo glancing at Kenoah and Izumi. Akane was nowhere in sight. Sakumo looked at his comrades, when they caught his eyes, he gave them a quick sign, that they were not to listen in.

"They can", he said quietly. "But they won't if they know to follow my command." His eyes narrowed at Izumi's slight blush. He waited for both of them to get away a few paces until he was sure they weren't listening. Then he turned around. "What is it? Are there any problems?" His mind was on the mission.

"No … ah … No, no", the Daimyo rambled. "Nothing like that." Sakumo frowned questioningly. His employee was pretty nervous, he realized. He could smell his fearful sweat. "It's just … about yesterday. I don't … I don't quite remember what I said exactly. But I think … I mean, I might have said something along the lines of … well, you know?" He glanced at Sakumo clearly afraid.

"Along the lines of wanting to destroy Konoha?" Sakumo whispered secretively.

The Daimyo visibly blanched. "So, I actually said that?" If he had smelled of fear before, now he practically reeked of panic. It made Sakumo wrinkle his sensitive nose. "You should know, I didn't … I didn't mean it. And I still don't. So, I … I understand if you have to …" The nervous ramblings made Sakumo scowl. He knew where this was going.

"I'm not going to kill you for your drunken ramblings." He frowned down at the man who was just a bit smaller than him. He could see the Daimyo visibly deflate with relief.

Sakumo had to talk to the Hokage about this, though. Not only about the things the Daimyo had said the day before, but also about the fact, that a foreign Daimyo apparently expected to be killed by the Konoha shinobi over some drunken words.

"Anyway, this is a bodyguard mission." He smiled. "I'm pretty sure, killing my charge would count as a bad mission failure."

"Aah Haha", the Daimyo laughed a bit nervously. Than he patted Sakumo on the shoulder. "Yes, I think it would."

They left Yu no Kuni the next day and arrived in Konoha another few days later.

"What is it with that man?" Kenoah asked exasperatedly after they had settled down in a hotel in Konoha. "A Daimyo …? Could have fooled me. The man's like a big child." He put their bags into a room next to the Daimyo's.

"I think it's sweet" said Izumi. "He obviously loves his kids. He's just acting that way, for his kids. Did you guys see their faces when we teleported them to the Hokage-faces." She blushed slightly. Over the last few days she had grown fond of the two young kids.

"Still. He's a head of state" grumbled Kenoah. "He should know how to behave himself or else he'll just ridicule his whole country. Nothing good ever happened from a daimyo being a laughing stock. There were wars started over less." He frowned around their small room.

"Stop it, Kenoah" ordered Sakumo. "We're here to protect him for the duration of his stay. Not to judge his behaviour."

"Sure, sure" The Chunin shrugged. "Not like I care anyway. He's not my Daimyo, after all. I mean it's not even like I don't like him, he's just so childish at times. And he behaves weird. There was this one day, he was all giddy and fidgeting around us, as if he thought we were going to kill him. Next he was all close and obnoxious and almost too close for comfort." There was a silent snort.

Akane entered the room last looking around. "That's a bit tiny for the four of us" she commented.

Sakumo shrugged. "I don't get paid for this. If you want better accommodations rent your own room. We don't have to stay here anyway. We'll guard the Daimyo in shifts of two and whoever is not on duty can sleep in here or … go home for all I care. It's not like this is all your home town." He plummeted into a comfortable arm chair. "Akane and Izumi will work together, and I share my shift with Kenoah." He looked around his teammates. "Any complaints?"

There was a small smile from Kenoah. "You don't want to share a room with the girls or what is it?", he asked mockingly. "Wouldn't have taken you for the shy type."

Sakumo's cheeks and neck heated a bit. "Whatever. I need a shower" he grunted. "Akane, Izumi. You take first shift. I'll have to report to the Hokage. Kenoah, be here at 12 sharp. And don't stray too far in case something happens."

"Aye" the other man said.

Sakumo left the room with Akane. "I like the new team", she said with her lazy smile.

"Yeah? Kenoah is a bit annoying, I think."

"Oh, you'll grow to love him soon enough. You always needed Yashiro to talk back at you. Unlike Yashiro, Kenoah respects you, so …"

"Oh, thanks. Yeah, rub it in, that my last teammate doesn't like me much." But Sakumo smiled, anyway. Akane and he were in a team since they both made Genin together. His sister aside, she was probably the person he was closest too that was still alive.

He knocked at the Daimyos door, to tell him their arrangements with the two-men-shifts. Then he left Akane to deal with anything that might come up within the remaining hours of her shift, while he left to the Hokage tower.

"I had a little talk with the Daimyo" said Sakumo after making his general report. "He was drunken and … rambling." The Hokage raised an eyebrow. "He seemed pretty sure, there would be war again. Not now, but some time later. He mentioned that he had once thought it would be better for the big nations not to exist. I don't think he means harm, though."

The Hokage nodded sadly. "I'm afraid there's no chance we'll prevent war forever. A few more years of relative quiet is all we can hope for."

"So, what did Kagami-Sensei died for, then?" Sakumo asked tiredly. Then he shook his head. After all, he was no naïve child anymore. He had always known or at least assumed they would face another war someday. "Forgive me, Hokage-sama. I sounded bitter."

"You have every right to be" Sarutobi acknowledged quietly. "There's nothing to forgive. Is there something else?"

"After we talked" said Sakumo. "Or better after his drunken ramblings the next day he told me he hadn't meant it the way it probably came out. He seemed to fear I would kill him for it." He frowned a bit at the memory.

There was a surprised look by the Hokage, then he sighed. "Well, I assume it should have been expected. You're a powerful shinobi of a powerful nation. I think there are many shinobi who would have killed him, if he had rambled on about destroying their village."

"Over the words of a drunken man?" Sakumo asked disbelieving. "That seems oddly petty."

"It is", the Hokage smiled. "Shinobi can be a petty and prideful bunch. Especially when they feel insulted or when their villages are insulted. A shinobi is sworn to loyalty to his village. Some go a bit over board in that. I hope, should you ever come upon somebody who says something like this in a more serious manner, that you won't hesitate to stop them – if it means killing them or just apprehending them. In a case such as this, when there is no immediate danger and hardly even any malintent it should be enough if you just tell me."

Sakumo nodded silently. Shinobi, a petty and prideful bunch. The Hokage made them sound like Samurai, scrambling around for honour and glory. But by definition they should rather be killers in the dark, not meant to be easily insulted.


	11. The Tenth Chunin Exams

I was told the last chapter was a bit long :o so this one is even loner so I cut it in two parts.

Enjoy!

* * *

 **The Tenth Chunin-Exams**

"Ladies and Gentlemen, dear citizens and shinobi of Konoha and to our honoured guests from our neighbouring nations" the Hokage started his voice carrying out over the gathered masses in the arena. "I am especially happy to welcome the shinobi from Iwagakure, Kumogakure and Sunagakure as well as and most prominently the Sandaime Raikage and the Sandaime Tsuchikage."

There was a small pause when the Hokage looked toward the two dignitaries to his right and left. "As well as of course the Daimyo of Yu no Kuni and Hanzo of Amegakure. It pains me greatly that my colleague in Suna, the Kazekage, could not make this trip today. But still, I feel this is a great moment of history, for never before have so many of the big nations as well as the little nations met in harmony instead of war."

There was a tired smile on the Hokage's face and Sakumo first realized that the man had aged a couple of years in those last months. Still a strapping young man before the conflict had broken out, now there were lines in his face giving away his age. He was not the man in his twenties anymore that had taken up the seat as Hokage, but a warrior in his thirties, hardened and experienced … but still too young for the tired lines in his face. The Raikage and the Tsuchikage were around the same age, Sakumo realized with a quick glance at both dignitaries.

They were all positioned on the dais raised above the arena and separated from the common folk watching the Chunin Exams' final phase. Sakumo was standing a bit removed from the dignitaries a few steps behind the Daimyo of Yu no Kuni fulfilling his role as the man's chosen bodyguard. He felt a bit out of place between the dignitaries, the ambassadors and their body guards, some of the finest shinobi he knew, and all older than him and more experienced. ANBU most of them.

The Hokage's bodyguards had their faces hidden behind the porcelain masks of the black ops. An ambassador of Suna was protected by two shinobi with faces behind veils of thin cloth, made to protect them from sun, wind and sand, but also serving to keep them incognito. The Kumo-Nin showed their faces proudly and one he recognized as the new Raikage's brother: C, the man he'd fought against a few weeks prior. The Tsuchikage's man had their faces out in the open too, but they wore matching uniforms making it difficult to know one from the other even though they showed their faces. Lastly, Hanzo's bodyguads, two lean men of Amegakure, had gas masks over their lower facial regions making them almost unrecognizable.

He was standing next to Kenoah and he wondered, whether the Chunin felt just as out of place as he did. Probably even more so, Sakumo assumed, as Kenoah was not only younger than most of the others, less experienced and less renown – he was also not even of Jonin-rank.

"My predecessor, the Nidaime Hokage, started the first Chunin-Exams 10 years ago as a celebration of peace and a means to bring together people of different places, villages and cultures. Looking at the people gathered, here and now, I like to think, he would be proud to see what was once meant to bring together Genin of neighbouring countries to form friendship and respect has now brought together four of the five big nations."

There was a bit of friendly clapping. For all the words spoken they all knew, after all, that this was not really a celebration of peace but a somewhat forced ordeal to act civil when just a few weeks ago there had been talks of war.

"With this," the Hokage raised his hands, "let the third and final round of the 10th Chunin-Exams start. I wish the best of luck to all the participants from across the continent."

He stepped down from where he had spoken over the masses and strolled to his seat at the centre of the dais.

Sakumo let his eyes roam over the arena. A bit below them there was a second smaller platform where the Daimyo's wife and children were situated with other nobles, dignitaries and their families. He knew Akane and Izumi were there to protect them, though he still didn't expect any trouble.

Down on the arena grounds the fighting started. A young Ame-boy made quick work of a somewhat clumsy Akimichi, which made some of the audience laugh in varying degrees of mirth and ridicule. There was a silent comment by the Suna-ambassador who was situated next to Hanzo congratulating the man for the first victory for his village. Hanzo didn't reply and behind his gas mask Sakumo couldn't say if he was smiling.

Next were two Konha-Genin facing against each other – Konoha making up by far the majority of participants in the finals. There were seven Konoha-Genin, three from Kumogakure and two of Iwagakure and Sunagakure each. The boy of Ame was the only Ame-nin who had made it that far. There also was a girl from Yu which had made the Daimyo positively giddy with pride and excitement.

The fight between the young Hyuuga-heir, Hiashi, and his twin brother of the minor branch, Hizashi, raged on for half an hour. They were both just about ten years old and powerful for their age but in the end, they ran a bit out of steam. Still, the audience was mystified. The Gentle Fist fighting style of the Hyuuga was graceful and deadly at the same time, so Sakumo could understand the 'Ooh's' and 'Aah's' of the audience.

In the end, when they were both about to topple over, Hizashi conceded victory to his older twin brother in what Sakumo could only assume was a gesture of submission rather than the actual admission of being defeated. Hiashi helped his brother back on his feet and both left the arena under thundering applause.

Sakumo realized only a bit late, that the Daimyo was waving him to come close.

"They are brothers, I know. But frightening, don't you think?" The Daimyo whispered in his ear after Sakumo bend down to the seated man. "I've heard a bit about their eyes. Is it really just Taijutsu? It's hard to believe!"

Sakumo frowned unwilling to give away much about the Hyuuga fighting-style to somebody not directly loyal to Konoha. "It's just Taijutsu," he answered, "but I'm not a Hyuuga myself, so I hardly know more than anybody else." It was a lie though not a blatant one. He had hardly ever worked with the Hyuuga, so of course he didn't know their secrets. But he was sure, he knew more than the Daimyo, at least."

"A shame" the man said smiling.

Sakumo was hardly even listening anymore. He felt eyes on his back and he was acutely aware of who was seated next to the Yu no Kuni Daimyo behind Sakumo. He smiled at the Daimyo, but his nervous system was screaming 'danger' at him.

"Is that the fabled White Fang?" rumbled the Raikage behind him. Sakumo straightened and tried to ignore him. His experience from how the other bodyguards behaved told him it was best if he just let the dignitaries speak over his head as if he didn't even exist. If he just kept to protocol and didn't talk unless specifically spoken to, he couldn't do anything wrong, he assumed. So, instead of answering he just took a small step back to leave the Daimyo and the Raikage to freely look and talk to each other without moving too far away, as the Daimyo had not yet dismissed him to his position in the back of the dais.

"It is" the Daimyo said almost proudly.

There was a sour twitch around the Raikage's lips. Sakumo wished he could silently force the Daimyo to not goad the Raikage, but it seemed the head of state of Yu no Kuni was in an entirely too good mood to care about politics or hurt feelings now … or to just consider the fact that Sakumo wasn't exactly well liked among Kumo-nin, for good reason.

"Is Yugakure so small and weak they can't afford their own bodyguards that you have to ask the Hokage for protection?" the Sandamie Raikage asked snidely.

There was a furious blush in the Daimyo's face and Sakumo couldn't help but throw a quick glance at the Hokage – a silent plea to interfere before this could turn ugly. But the Sarutobi had his focus elsewhere. He was in deep conversation with the Tsuchikage as just a few seconds ago the Hokage's own son had walked out on the field to face one of the Genin from Iwagakure, one of the oldest participants that had gotten this far, a blond boy quite a bit taller than the Hokage's son.

"I did not ask the Hokage for protection" the Daimyo replied hotly. "Sakumo-san is a good friend. He was nice enough to accompany me during my stay here."

It wasn't technically true, as it had been an official mission anyway, but Sakumo didn't want to – nor was he even allowed to rectify the situation.

"And anyway, even if that were true, the only reason I'd be lacking Jonin to keep me company here would be because of your little conflict wrecking my territory giving my shinobi so much to rebuild." Sakumo winced inwardly at the aggressive choice of words. He felt somewhat flattered that the Daimyo would call him his friend, but he'd rather he hadn't.

As Sakumo feared the Raikage got it all the wrong way. The powerful man's eyes narrowed slightly. "Friends? Pray tell, have you been friends before the conflict, already?"

Only now did the Daimyo realize his mistake. He'd been entirely to good-natured and casual in a difficult political environment. Just a few days back the Daimyo had told Sakumo himself, that they might have prevented war for now, but not forever. And the political landscape was still rough. The man of Yu no Kuni sputtered a bit but the Raikage didn't give him time to rectify the situation.

"Have you been helping Konoha in this conflict? Maybe we should have put the bounty on your head, then, instead of the boy's." He threw a hateful glare at Sakumo who was biting his lips and wrecking his brains for how to reconcile the situation. He knew, whatever he'd say, he probably had no right to say anything – maybe the Daimyo would forgive him if he spoke up, as he had a personal liking for the Hatake. He was sure, the Hokage would forgive his transgression as well, but the Raikage would probably use every excuse to hate him just a bit more. On the other hand, his role was to protect the Daimyo and that included not to let the man unwittingly stumble into a conflict he had no chance of surviving.

"We only ever met after the fighting ended" the Daimyo sputtered a bit too fast and too nervously.

The Raikage's eyes narrowed even further. "As far as I was made aware of, he was in hospital for weeks. When did you become so fast friends, then? That he would be willing to guard you as a service of friendship." There was a mocking glint in his eyes.

The Daimyo swallowed even more nervously. Sakumo could smell his fearful sweat. Kenoah drew a bit closer to Sakumo, obviously on edge. With a bit of relief Sakumo realized that the Hokage was looking up from his conversation with Oonoki apparently realizing the less than friendly atmosphere to his other side. But the frown on the Sarutobi's face told Sakumo that Hiruzen who had just tuned in on the conflict didn't quite understand what it was all about.

Sakumo saw the Daimyo move his lips silently for a few seconds apparently searching for words. He seemed suddenly so tiny and afraid, that Sakumo knew, whatever he'd say next would only make the situation worse. Either he'd give in and admit to his countries weakness, that Sakumo was not in fact a friend but an employee, admitting inadvertently that he had lied to the Raikage – one of the most powerful men in the world. Or he'd have to admit that, yes, he had helped Sakumo during the war, if only in a very minor way that didn't exactly sabotage Kumo in any way. Both would only worsen the relationship between Konoha, Yu and Kumo.

"I wrote the Daimyo after my stay in the hospital" said Sakumo with an easy voice. "After all, I wanted to apologize for the damage to his lands caused by my team during the conflict." He would rather draw anger against himself than watch quietly while Yu stumbled into a war and took them all with it.

There was a stunned silence, then the Daimyo next to him visibly slumped in relieve. "Yes" he muttered. "He sent me a message and I asked to meet with him. That's how we met." It was close enough to the truth, Sakumo thought.

The Daimyo aside who was still looking a little nervous but comparatively relieved, everyone was staring at Sakumo. The Hokage looked a bit surprised as Sakumo had not been expected to speak up. Hanzo and the Tsuchikage looked mildly interested. The ambassador from Suna looked a bit irritated and most of the body guards – if they didn't remain as impassive as ever – threw him sideway glances.

The Raikage looked positively furious. But Sakumo had somewhat expected this reaction.

"Did you, now?" he hissed and scrutinized Sakumo with a baleful look. Then he turned towards the Hokage. "I didn't know you're Jonin were such spineless creatures, Hiruzen-san. Begging for forgiveness …"

"Ah, you know, A" smiled the Hokage still a bit confused how this topic had actually started. "Others would call that manners." He looked good-naturedly as always but there was a nervous twitch in his eyebrows. Sitting between the Raikage and the Tsuchikage – two powerful men and leaders of military super powers not exactly on the friendliest terms with Konoha – he didn't want to risk a new conflict. If it had just been the Raikage, it would be an easier situation to deal with, as between Kumo and Konoha, Konoha was the stronger power. But with the Tsuchikage sitting right there with that interested glint in his eyes … It was quite obvious that Oonoki would jump at the opportunity to form an alliance with Kumo against Konoha if this situation went south. Sakumo might have been young and inexperienced with politics, but he knew to read people well enough.

"Manners, hm?", the Raikage bellowed and stared back at the Hatake. "How come he never apologized to me? However many holes he might have punched in Yu's territory, it were my people he killed."

There was an angry frown on the Hokage's face. "Did you forget, who mobilized his troupes first?"

The Raikage scowled but then he glanced at the Tsuchikage who seemed to thoroughly enjoy himself. Oonoki smiled at A, giving him the silent 'go ahead' a small alliance formed in the blink of an eye. Sakumo swallowed. Even the Hokage seemed a bit nervous, though he hid it behind his furrowed eyebrows.

"Still, he killed almost fifty of my men. And he attacked the former Raikage" he said scathingly. "How would you feel if I brought the Gold and Silver Brothers along after they killed your predecessor?"

That was entirely different. Sakumo scowled. There was movement to his left and Sakumo just barely caught Kenoah's wrist before he could put his hand on the hilt of his sword. Kenoah relaxed a bit and Sakumo let him go.

The Hokage didn't seem happy with where this celebration of peace was going. The Chunin-Exams were meant to secure peace not to start a war. Sarutobi glanced at Sakumo briefly. He didn't seem angry, but he also didn't seem so happy either.

"I can leave and send another in my place" said Sakumo quietly.

"No" said the Daimyo suddenly. "I won't have my bodyguards chosen by another."

Both the Hokage and Sakumo frowned unhappily. The Raikage only grew more furious.

"And I won't suffer the presence of a man, who attacked my predecessor, injured my brother and killed my men, not in open combat, but through ambush and deceit like a coward." Like a ninja, Sakumo wanted to say snidely, but he kept quiet. "If he can degrade himself to apologize to Yu for some collateral damage, I think, it's not asked for too much that he degrade himself to apologize to me for slaughtering my countrymen."

This was entirely too childish for Sakumo's liking. He had known the Kumo-shinobi were a hot-headed people, but this was just too much. Never mind that this man had killed Kagami-Sensei. He tried not to think about it. He could throw away his pride for the sake of his village, he could degrade himself if that is what he had to do … But he couldn't apologize to the man that had killed his Sensei, not like that. Sakumo grit his teeth trying to throw Kagami out of his thoughts.

"I apologize for the pain I caused your countrymen" he gritted out.

There was a silent pause. The Hokage looked somewhere between accepting and disapproving and Sakumo did not know if he had done wrong. The Daimyo looked up at him apologetically. The Raikage just seemed more furious.

"I'm not talking about a half-hearted apology. Come here and kneel the way your lower station demands it." Sakumo couldn't help but role his eyes. He felt a bit numb moving forward. The Hokage had a dark look in his eyes, but he didn't move to stop him. Sakumo could see the Raikage's brother, C, frown a bit.

Sakumo didn't really look anywhere specific when he went on one knee and bowed his head slightly, but his back remained straight. "I apologize for the harm caused to the people of Kumogakure." He said dryly.

He didn't see the fist coming before it connected with his face almost throwing him over the dais and down on the arena floor where the small Sarutobi was still fighting with the Iwa-nin. Kenoah was the one who caught him in time. Sakumo straightened and felt his face testily. He had a split lip and he was sure he'd get quite the bruise from this, but the punch hadn't been too hard.

"I can live with that" said the Raikage quietly lifting the tense atmosphere just a bit. Sakumo swallowed a rude curse before he followed Kenoah back to the Daimyo to take their positions behind his seat once again.

"You alright?" Kenoah asked silently.

"I'm fine" grunted the Hatake. His face hurt, but he had suffered a lot worse. He realized both the Hokage and the Daimyo were looking at him for a moment longer, before turning back to the competition, where the Iwa-nin just defeated the young Sarutobi. The Hokage muttered in silent disappointment at his son's failure and like that the focus of most of the people on the dais was back at the Chunin-Exams.

Next up a Suna-Shinobi fought against a Nara-Kunoichi. The Suna guy was a puppeteer, one of the specialties of Sunagakure and the Nara-girl was doing a good job hunting down her adversary. By the end of the fight, she had poison in her system but somehow, she managed to trap the Suna-nin with her shadows and forced him to surrender. Still, she collapsed on the battle ground and Sakumo doubted she'd be up to her next fight in a few hours.

"And now: A of Kumogakure against Maki of Iwagakure" the Jonin responsible for the tourney proclaimed.

Sakumo could see the Raikage perk up a bit. The Tsuchikage didn't react in any feasible way. Sakumo found himself quite interested in the young Kumo-prodigy walking on the field. A was quite a few years older than he had assumed. Sakumo had thought him to be one of the youngest participants but he looked around 12 years old which was quite average. Other than his name A had also inherited his built from his father. He was tall and broad shouldered and obviously strong as an ox, with the dark complexion of the people of the Land of Lightning and blonde hair.

His opponent was a small girl with a stocky built and dark brown locks. A was said to be the great genius of this year's competition. He had heard some talk about his own sister in the audience, the White Fang's sister, of the Hyuuga clan-head's sons, especially about Hiashi, and about the young Sarutobi. There was some talk about the Ame-boy as well, but the Raikage's son A was by far the one people wanted to see fight the most. Therefore, Sakumo was a bit impressed at the Iwa-girl's sure steps. She had the confidence of a ninja who knew exactly what she was doing despite her youth.

Sakumo thought, they were about the same age.

Soon, he'd find out, why the Iwa-kunoichi was so sure of herself. She was good. She had the secure footing of a Doton-master and a Taijutsu-specialist. She couldn't quite keep up with A, but she was giving him a good fight. By the end of the fight, she was unconscious, and A was sweating profusely, but raising a victorious fist into the air.

The young prodigy, Sakumo thought, was positively frightening. He had the same fighting style the former and current Raikage had. Speed and lightning, apparently a specialty of the strongest of Kumo. And though Sakumo was pretty sure, that he was still faster than the boy, he didn't know how long that would last. If A was this good at age 12 …

The kunoichi from Yu was next against another of the shinobi from Kumo. Again, Kumo won.

When the fight started, the Daimyo of Yu no Kuni was all giddy and excited, but it soon turned out that, while his subordinate was good, she was not quite as good as the Kumo-nin, who seemed to be a bit older than her. Sakumo had no doubt that she'd have the potential to make Chunin in a year or two, but for now she was still a bit unsure of her movements. A Genin could afford to be indecisive every now and then, but a Chunin needed more confidence in their decision making. When Sakumo saw the Daimyo deflate a bit at the early loss and glance back at him, Sakumo could only smile apologetically.

He had been quite happy, that the Daimyo had chosen not to wave him forward when the Yu-girl had stepped on the field. He didn't exactly want to draw any more attention to himself. Therefore, he could only sigh tiredly when the Damiyo waved him closer just a few minutes later, when Sakumo's sister stepped on the field.

"Is she related to you?" asked the Daimyo and nodded to the girl.

"My sister" whispered Sakumo. This time he took extra caution not to turn his back to the Raikage, who again was looking at him but not saying anything for now.

The Daimyo clapped excitedly. "You didn't say you had a sister in the competition." Sakumo smiled apologetically. "Well, let's see how she's doing. She looks a lot like you."

Sakumo grunted. He knew. Sanae had cut her hair precisely to look like him. She had always been a bit tomboyish and they had a very similar lean built. From afar even their different nuances in hair and eye colour weren't easily detectable. She was like a tiny him. He'd grow his hair out, he decided. If she cut it short, he'd wear it long. That would annoy her, he thought, but that way, they'd at least be distinguishable by more than just height. Even if she decided to grow her hair out, too, he knew that her hair unlike his tended to curl at a certain length, while his was just straight.

Her opponent was a stocky Suna-boy with a terrifying Fuuton-affinity and a bunch of techniques that had all the might of a minor calamity. His wind was cutting trees and stone alike and Sakumo felt his heart jolt once or twice whenever he thought Sanae might just lose a limb or worse her head in this fight.

The more the fight dragged on, the deeper his frown turned. He'd have to talk to his sister later on. She was copying him too much. While they had similar talents, they were not the same. He knew, her Sensei had tried to get her to focus more on her own individual skills rather than just doing what he did, but he hadn't known it was quite that bad. Sanae was not quite as naturally talented with Raiton-chakra. She had a Raiton-affinity like pretty much every Hatake Sakumo had ever known, but she didn't manage to apply it to her movements the way Sakumo did. She was fast and agile, but she had nowhere his speed. She was a lot more graceful though. He also knew, that she had a bit more chakra than he had at that age. She also had good chakra control.

He thought rather than copying his style with the sword, she'd do a lot better using a style comparable to Kenoah's. Using diversions and distractions instead of speed. Then he thought, he probably wouldn't have given her a sword at all. She'd do a lot better with mid-range Ninjutsu. Sakumo himself used mid-range Ninjutsu as a secondary fighting style to fall back on, should his sword fighting and Taijutsu fail. Actually watching Sanae fight seriously for the first time in a while, he thought, she'd do a lot better the other way around. With mid-range Ninjutsu as primary and the sword only as secondary weapon.

By the end of the fight, Sakumo had seen three or four glaring opportunities for Sanae to take out the Suna-nin with a Jutsu, he knew she could use, only to see her wasting the opportunities in a mad dash with her sword. Finally, she only won, because the Suna-shinobi had spent too much chakra. Kenjutsu was a comparatively Chakra-cheap fighting style after all. Even Sakumo with his lacking chakra reserves could often outfight chakra beasts if they just used to many more tiring techniques.

"You have a tiny White Fang" snorted the Raikage at the Hokage after Sanae left the battle field victorious but tired. "If my estimation is correct, she'll fight my son next."

When the Hokage confirmed quietly, Sakumo got the chills. His fight with the Nidaime Raikage who had almost killed him with that same fighting style A used was still too fresh in his mind. He didn't particularly care to see his sister fight the Kumo-prodigy. He was very sure, that A would easily outpace his little sister and if A hated Sakumo the way his father, the Raikage, obviously did … He felt a bit sick.

Seeing Sanae's teammate Saburo walk out on the field and face off against a girl from Kumogakure was a good distraction. It was the last fight in the first round and it was positively exciting. The Kunochi from Kumo was good with Genjutsu, Saburo was a Taijutsu specialist. It was a weird mix between exciting movement and intricate staring. At times the audience could just sit and mutter quietly not knowing whether the girl had successfully administered a Genjutsu and already won the fight, and they just didn't know it yet. Both were not quite as powerful as many of the other participants they had seen before, but they were good and it was interesting to see two people with so different styles clash against each other. By the end, Saburo managed to decide the fight with something Sakumo could only describe as a lucky hit. He had opened two of his inner gates to get out of a Genjutsu and in doing so he had somehow hit his opponent right over the head with an uncontrolled fist. She'd just gotten a bit too close. There was a bit of laughter at the sudden end of the fight and an indignant pout by Saburo, before he was declared the winner of the last fight for this round.


	12. The Tenth Chunin Exams - The Final Round

Sorry for the delay! I had to do stuff for University yesterday. So, this chapter is a day late. Well, I hope you enjoy it still ^^

* * *

 **The Tenth Chunin Exams - The Final Round**

It was already high noon and the announcer called a break for two hours to give the participants time to rest and the audience time to have lunch.

Sakumo and Kenoah followed the Daimyou down the dais where they met with his family, Akane and Izumi were smiling broadly and congratulating Sakumo on his sisters and her teammates win, as if it had been Sakumo doing the hard work. Akane was frowning at his split lip, although it had stopped bleeding some time ago.

"Have you been attacked" asked Izumi worriedly.

"No" said the Hatake. "The Raikage doesn't like me much." He turned to the Daimyo. "If it's okay for you, I'll switch with Akane and have her guard you during the second half of the competition."

There was a quiet frown from the Daimyo, but then he conceded and smiled at Akane. Then he invited them to eat and he thought about taking the Genin-team of Yugakure with them. After all, since the girl had lost, there was no reason for them to wait and wallow away with the other participants. Sakumo agreed, although he still felt somewhat uncomfortable at how close he and his team had become to their charge. He was more used to bodyguard missions that involved silently standing by and sleeping in the rain outside their employer's chambers rather than … rather than being invited to lunch by them.

Izumi was very happy about the invitation though, so he didn't lament over it. The girl could eat more than the rest of the team combined.

They visited a pricy sushi restaurant. Though he wasn't exactly poor he was also not used to spend so much money on food. Even less, on so little food. But it hadn't been his first time at an expensive restaurant and at least he had the money to be somewhat used to such luxury … On the other hand, Kenoah and the Genins of Yu positively blushed at the prices. The Daimyo just laughed and waved and told them to get whatever they wanted. Apparently, somebody had recommended a certain version of Sashimi to him. Sakumo just smiled and took something more affordable. Kenoah looked at him, then did the same.

They were halfway through their meal, when Sakumo told the Kunoichi from Yu who had lost her fight in the competition, that she was actually doing good just needed more confidence. She was grinning and nodding, and the Daimyo's son sat up straighter and looked at him and asked whether he could be a Chunin, too.

Sakumo just glanced at the boy's father and said he'd have to ask his father, but he'd have to become a Genin first. The Daimyo seemed a bit annoyed when his son then turned on him and pretty much poked him with questions and pleas until the man conceded that yes, they could go to a Jonin in their village as soon as they were back home and ask if the boy had talent. That was when the Daimyo's daughter also started nagging him, that she wanted to be a Kunoichi.

He tuned out when Izumi started asking him about his sister's fight.

An hour later they were back in the arena. This time he was standing behind the Daimyo's wife and her kids and the girl from Yu was there too. Her teammates had seats in the audience, but she didn't want to go back to where the other participants were. Apparently, she had problems with the Iwa-kids. Or one Iwa-kid in particular. Sakumo hadn't asked for details.

The first fight was immediately forfeit by the Kunoichi from the Nara-Clan. Just like Sakumo had thought, she didn't have the stamina left to go another round. Like this, the Ame-nin advanced without challenge.

Hiashi Hyuuga managed a tight victory against the last remaining Iwa-nin, the boy who had previously defeated the Hokage's son.

He was a bit nervous but also excited when his sister's match came up next. After all, however worried he was that something might happen, shinobi thrived on rivalry and competition and facing her strongest opponent yet would help Sanae in the long run even if she were to lose.

His sister was no slouch. Maybe he should have given her more credit, he thought as he was watching her swing her chakra blade. Her hair was bright against the sunlight and the weapon left ripples of blue lightning and white chakra in the air wherever she moved it. The Raikage's son was flashing across the battlefield, easily outrunning her but somehow, she still managed to twist around his fists.

Sakumo cringed inwardly and felt the eerie similarities to his own fights with C and the Raikage, when A's fists cracked the ground where Sanae had just stood. But A didn't do quite as much damage with his fists as Sakumo's adversaries had. He was only 12 years old after all.

Sanae managed to get a bit of distance to form finger signs. "Raiton: Rairyuudan" screamed the smaller Hatake and with her words a lightning dragon rose from her hands into the sky hunting the Kumo-nin. A flashed away a few steps.

"Woah" screamed the Daimyos daughter and jumped from her seat when the lightning dragon soared over their heads after the boy who was flashing and scaling along the walls. Sakumo smiled proudly. He didn't know if it had been a good idea by Sanae to use her strongest technique, but with a B-Rank technique at least she'd call attention to herself.

Her dragon at last smashed against the wall, leaving a few cracks and charred stone behind and A stumbled to a screeching halt, wheezing a bit. Sanae thought she saw a weakness and shun-shined behind him to get him with her sword, but her opponent managed to block with a quickly drawn kunai. He threw the weapon at her, then charged after the knife and though Sanae managed to block the kunai she was hit in the stomach with his fist.

Sakumo cringed a bit at the sight remembering how it felt to have a lightning enhanced fist plummet into his body. Sanae stumbled a bit than managed to flash away and collect herself against a tree but A was soon upon her.

Sakumo felt his fingers curl around the backrest of the chair the daimyo's daughter was sitting in. The wood cracked and squeaked under his hand as he forcefully made himself stay where he was instead of jumping to his sister's aid. It didn't help his sickening feeling of inaction and helplessness when Sanae crumbled under a particularly viscous hit. Before he could think to jump in again, the Jonin supervising the competition flashed between the unconscious girl and the boy still crackling with lightning.

Sakumo felt faintly sick, when he watched them carry away his sister, but it helped when he saw Saburo appear at her side accompanying the medic-nin out of the arena, where Sakumo could already see his sister's sensei appear. He forced himself to breath calmly, sure, that she was in good hands now and when Sanae disappeared from his view his eyes followed Saburo back to the middle of the arena where he would fight his own quarter-final.

Saburo seemed eager to finish his own fight and Sakumo relaxed a bit seeing that his sister had such great and powerful teammates. There was a determination to Saburo's movements that gave his anger at Sanae's loss away. His opponent was another of the Kumo-nin and maybe that added just enough fuel to the fire.

He didn't remember Saburo ever being that energetic. When Sanae had first told him, that her teammate was able to open four of the eight inner gates in the blink of an eye, he had thought he must be confusing her teammates. Saburo had always been the rather quiet, easily bored and down to earth boy in the team. The other two in their team were energetic and loud, sometimes to the point of annoying, but Saburo was always rather quiet and solemn. He remembered when he had trained with the team just after the first part of the exam Saburo had been tired and not really into it. Now, apparently, he was very much into it.

Above the roaring crowd Sakumo couldn't quite make out, what the adversaries were saying but something the Kumo-nin said must have made Saburo even more angry and determined. As soon as the Jonin-proctor gave the 'Go'-signal, Saburo went straight to second gate. There was an explosion of Chakra and energy in the arena not unlike when he had first opened his inner gates in the first battle, but this time he seemed so much more determined. The audience watched in awe as the boy flashed away with speed not quite up to what A had showcased before but formidable nonetheless.

Even if his speed was not as good as A's his Taijutsu technique was better. His opponent only barely managed to dodge the first and block the second strike before Saburo in a sudden burst of power released two more gates and lifted his enemy off the ground.

At that point it was almost already over. The Kumo-nin tried to use hand signs to find a technique that could save him, but he wasn't fast enough before Saburo's food buried himself in his back propelling him further into the sky. The technique was a not quite perfected Omote Renge, a Front Lotus, but it did its job and left the Kumo-nin stumbling bleeding and concussed unable to get back on his feet and find his balance. Saburo quickly finished with a round-house kick to the head.

Later, they were both sent to the infirmary. Sakumo knew, that opening the gates could have drastic consequences on the human body.

The semi-finals and finals were announced for the next day so Sakumo followed the Daimyo and his family back to the hotel, where they spent a silent evening. The kids were excited and screaming different Jutsu-names around the suite and the Daimyo was congratulating them on having some formidable young Konoha shinobi. He gave Sakumo leave to go and Sakumo left Akane and Izumi to guard the family.

He first went to the Hokage. As soon as they were alone Sakumo bowed his head in shame.

"I have to apologize for my …"

"No, you really haven't. I should have known not to put you in that position. I wouldn't have thought the new Raikage was so petty." The Hokage frowned at him. "How is your lip?"

"It's alright" Sakumo said.

"Well, get that checked over. Your jaw is blue." Sakumo was a bit surprised at the description, he hardly felt anything. "Anyway, I'm sorry it had to be that way. I really think, A just wanted to hit somebody." The Hokage sighed. "Have you seen Sanae?"

"I was about to go to her" answered Sakumo. "Do you know, how she is?"

"She's fine, as far as I know. Mostly at least. A managed a few painful hits, but she'll be okay."

Sakumo nodded.

"Good work, Sakumo. I can't help but notice how the Daimyo likes you." The Hokage smiled at him. "You're dismissed."

"Thank you, Hokage-sama."

When he arrived at the Konoha hospital, the nurses didn't want to let him see Sanae at first. It was getting late and visiting hours were already almost over. Sakumo frowned. He was her only living family and responsible for her and he'd been on a mission until a few moments ago. He asked whether he'd need an official missive of the Hokage to see his sister, when they finally conceded and let him to her room.

"Anija!" she greeted a bit tiredly but smiling brightly. "Did you see my lightning dragon, anija?"

"I did" smiled the older Hatake. "Impressive. You just need to hit the target." There was a bit of well-intended mocking in his voice.

"As if" cried the girl. "Did you see how fast he was. I couldn't even see him at times. Even Saburo with his four gates open isn't that fast." She pouted a bit.

Sakumo laughed. "Of course, he is. I've seen him with four gates open today. Quite a sight. And as fast as A as soon as he goes to three gates." He shrugged and ruffled her hair. "A shame he can't keep it open for long. Have you seen him? He's got to be around here somewhere, too."

"Yeah, well" muttered the girl. "He's two doors down the floor. They say he was an idiot for going fourth gate. You know, it hurts him. Doctors say he might not be able to use it again tomorrow." She frowned. "Idiot! Normally when he uses that he needs at least a few days to recover."

Sakumo frowned. "Sanae" he started more serious. Sanae looked up at him with those big puppy eyes she always turned on him when he used that tone. She called it the 'parent-tone', he wasn't quite sure what to make of it. He'd rather have it be called the 'big-brother-gives-an-advice-tone'. The way she reacted to this tone one might think he was threatening to hit her with a stick. "I saw you fight."

"Yeah. I thought I was good" said the girl a bit confused because it didn't sound as if he was planning to praise her. "I mean, I lost, but …"

"This is not about losing" said Sakumo. "Yes, you did good. I'm quite proud, actually." He smiled a little. "But I couldn't help but notice that you're imitating my style a tad too much."

She looked up at him, then she frowned a bit surprised. "You think? I thought it was cool. And it's effective. It works for you, and I thought, we're pretty similar. So …"

"What did your sensei say about it?" asked Sakumo curiously.

Sanae pouted at him. "Nothing … She said it was a good style, but she'd rather I don't rely on the sword." She crossed her arms. "But you and Brother and even Pa have all fought with the sword, so I thought ..."

"But she is right. You know, that lightning dragon – it was the greatest part of your fight. I think you should use those kinds of technique more often. Keep the sword around, but don't make it your primary fighting style." He shrugged. "We have similar talents, but we're not the same. You are not quite fast enough"

"I could get faster."

Sakumo sighed. "And you don't have the right instincts to be honest."

Now, she looked insulted, so he sat down next to her on the edge of the bed. "You know, when you had a bit of distance to your opponent you did everything right. But in close combat sometimes you were making foolish decisions. It's nothing bad, you know. It's just the closer you are to your opponent the faster you have to be in your decision making. It worked out fine in your first fight, but against A, you didn't even see what he was doing and were basically running into his fists. But that dragon, that sent him running."

She frowned doubtfully. "Yeah, but I didn't hit him with the dragon either."

"Sure … but you didn't exactly give it a second try. Instead you just jumped in again, sword blazing, and ran straight into him. One moment you had him running the next he had knocked you out, and he didn't even have to run up to you, because you did that for him." He looked through the window at the setting sun outside. "Just try it, okay? Do your own thing and don't be me. Listen to your sensei when she gives you new ideas how to fight, alright?" There was a short silence. "Sanae?"

"Okay, anija" she grumbled.

"How are you?"

"Fine, fine. That idiot cracked two ribs and I hurt my wrist, but they say I'll be out of here in no time."

Sakumo nodded smiling. "Well, I've got to go. The nurses will probably skin me alive if they find me here. I was just given 10 minutes. Visiting times and all. You know how it goes."

She nodded a bit darkly. "Yeah, when you were here I could only see you an hour a day. And they wouldn't let me see you at all during the first three days cause of your condition." She fidgeted with the covers.

"That bad, huh?" he asked smiling. Than he kissed her forehead. "Take care, alright? And listen to the nurses. They know what's best for you."

He hardly even understood her grumbled response before he waved and disappeared through the window.

The next day he again chose to guard the daimyo's family rather than him personally. The Raikage was still up in the dais and though Sakumo didn't think he'd make a scene again, he didn't really want to risk it.

The day didn't go at all as planned. Between the drama with the Raikage they had apparently forgotten that Hanzo was the man with the most criminal energy among the foreign guests.

The Hyuuga heir was fighting against the Genin from Ame, when Sakumo first saw the purple smoke rise from the battlefield. Hiashi Hyuuga so far had quite the comfortable fight. The Ame-boy and his poisonous senbon rain was pretty deadly, but in the Hyuuga and his rotation defence it seemed like the senbon user had met his natural enemy. There was no getting past the Hyuuga's almost perfect defence. That was when that foggy purple stuff rose from the ground.

At first Sakumo thought it was a technique by the Ame-Genin, but when not just the Hyuuga began to stumble but even the Jonin proctor showed obvious signs of poisoning, Sakumo realized that the poison was entirely to potent to be used by a Genin in a competitive but still mostly friendly match. Worse still, even the Ame-nin showed sluggish movements indicating he'd been poisoned too. If it was the Genin's poison he'd hardly poison himself. Sakumo was not the only one to come to that conclusion.

He just told the Daimyo's wife to take her kids and prepare to depart should the smoke rise any further, and he told Izumi next to him to be on guard, when two Jonin and three members of the Hyuuga Clan side branch appeared down at the battle ground. The Hyuuga quickly grabbed their heir and took off without a second glance to the battlefield, but before they could even arrive at the top of the fighting pit, they stumbled and fell back. Sakumo stared, then he realized: they were effected, too. He was sure, they hadn't inhaled the smoke, yet. All shinobi he knew were perfectly capable of holding their breath for at least a few minutes. Enough to jump in, get Hiashi and jump out. But somehow, the poison had gotten in their system, anyway. Did the poison enter through the skin, too? He whirled around and signalled to Akane up in the dais.

A few seconds later she, Kenoah and the Daimyo appeared next to her.

"What's going on?" the Daimyo asked nervously.

"The Hokage doesn't know. Up in the dais they are arguing whether this is an attack by one of the Kage to take out the other two, or whether somebody else infiltrated the village. The Raikage is furious." Akane informed him quickly. "I don't think it's his doing. Anyway, there's chaos up there. The Hokage has his hands full calming the other Kage down."

Sakumo cursed. He glanced down at the fighting grounds and suddenly saw silhouettes shift in the purple fog, that was still slowly creeping higher.

"Are they after the Hyuuga?" he wondered aloud. "They could be after the Byakugan." He glanced back at the Daimyo who looked frightened but tried to make a strong face for his kids that were tightly holding on to their parents. "Akane, get the people out of there. We can't jump in, I think the poison can enter through the skin. But you can raise the ground were the bodies lie without having to enter. Raise them out of the pit! Kenoah go with her."

"Of course." She was gone in a flash. He didn't know where to exactly, but he was sure she'd be searching for a secluded place where she could concentrate completely on her sensoring and long-range-Doton.

In fact, just a few moments later the first earth pillar rose from the smoke carrying two crumbled figures. A few Konoha-nin were there immediately to take the bodies away. From where he was, Sakumo couldn't see, whether they were dead or just unconscious. Soon, there were more pillars rising with more slumped figures.

"We can't stay here." He told Izumi as the fog kept rising. "We go back to the hotel." He put his hand around the Daimyo who in turn had his daughter in his arms. Izumi put her arms around his wife and son. He used Shunshin to teleport away.

Sakumo was a bit faster than Izumi. As they appeared in the hotel room, the daimyo looked around nervously. "Where are my wife and … ah!" He breathed relieved when Izumi and the other two appeared in the door.

"What is going on?" asked the daimyo's wife, but Sakumo didn't know either.

He glanced out of the window. There was movement in the streets and his eyes zeroed in on fighting a bit down the road and panicking civilians running past their hotel. There wasn't much to do other than wait this out or wait for orders of the Hokage or information from Akane. He couldn't just leave the daimyo.

Sitting and biding his time was more difficult then fighting for his life, he learned. Every few seconds he glanced out of the window and Izumi was pacing the room and he caught her several times as she looked at him expectantly, waiting for some sort of order, something they could do. She was more on edge than even he was. "I wished you would have sent me with Akane" she kept repeating. "Where are they? Why are they not back by now?" she asked a few times. Or "How can you just sit there?"

He told her to stop it and didn't answer any of her questions. They were still in the same room with the daimyo and his family, instead of going to the small room they had rented next door. He didn't want to send the kids or even the adults in a panic if even trained shinobi couldn't keep their cool. Instead of doing anything he sat against the window a kunai in hand. Every now and then one of the hooded attackers came close enough to their hotel room, that he managed to throw a precise kunai or shuriken and help just a little bit, but he didn't want to draw attention either.

It was an attack in broad daylight, and by the time the noises from the village quieted down, it was already late afternoon. Another hour later Akane and Kenoah appeared looking a bit tired and dishevelled but not hurt. Sakumo glanced at them curtly, then left his position at the window for the first time in hours and left the Chunin with their charges, while he followed Akane out of the room.

"It's not proven yet, but it looks like Hanzo actually tried to get the Byakugan" she informed him.

"The Salamander?" asked Sakumo surprised. "The Hyuuga are save, I presume?"

"They are in hospital, fighting with the poison, but they'll make it most likely. So far, we count at least 11 dead. One of them the Ame-Genin. That monster didn't even inform his own participating Genin of the plan and had them die in his own poison." Sakumo shuddered. "Hanzo and his co-conspirators fled the village. There are still some shinobi and guests form the Hidden Rain in town, but I don't think they knew about the plan. They are in custody, however. T&I has taken over the proceedings." She looked a bit tired. "You're to report to the Hokage as soon as possible. And I need rest."

"Stay with them until I'm back. Then you can sleep as long as you want." He smiled at her exasperated groan. Then, he left for the Hokage Tower.

At the Hokage Tower life was busy and Jonin and Chunin alike were rushing past him and screaming orders and questions through the rooms. A Nara was trying to get a bit of order into the chaos, a few Hyuuga were furiously arguing with a group of medic-nins. Sakumo pushed passed them to the desk of the Hokage's secretary, but before he even arrived there, Shikaruma Nara the current head of the Nara Clan waved him to follow him. A moment later the Nara banged at the Hokage's door and entered immediately. The people in the room looked up, frowned but then brightened a bit as they saw who had entered.

Sakumo looked around a bit nervously. There was the head of the Hyuuga Clan, somebody from Anbu, he didn't know. Inori Yamanaka from the Intelligence Division, Ikkaku Uchiha, the chief of police, and of course the Hokage.

"Ah, Sakumo", the Hokage greeted. "The Daimyo of Yu no Kuni is fine, I hope?"

"Yes" replied Sakumo a bit nervously as he was in the presence of not just the Hokage but some of the most important men in the village. "He's back in his hotel room. Shaken, but physically fine. We were not attacked."

"Of course not" muttered the Hyuuga. "They were after the Byakugan. Dirty traitors."

"There was a second attack on the Uchiha compound at the same time" the chief of police replied darkly.

"Yeah, yeah" admitted he Hyuuga.

"The Byakugan and the Sharingan are save" Inori said a bit annoyed at the two big clans. "Hiashi and the other Hyuuga are in hospital. The Uchiha they tried to abduct is with my department. We're still making sure nobody went missing, but it looks good."

"Yes, but they came much to close" complained the Hyuuga, while the Uchiha just crossed his arms.

"Quiet" the Hokage suddenly cut in. "The worst could be prevented, that is the most important. As for the rest we will see. We lost lives today and I won't have you crying over your Kekkei Genkai when for all we know, they were not lost." The men in the room quieted down immediately. Sakumo still didn't know what he was doing here, why they had asked for him, but when the Hokage raised his eyes to the Hatake, he guessed, he'd find out soon enough.

"It's important to get the Daimyo and all the honoured guests safely back home. That is the most important task right now. I don't think Hanzo will attack a second time, but we can never know. The Chunin-Exams are over. I'll give you reinforcements. Then I want you to leave to Yugakure tomorrow. Your team will not only escort the Daimyo and his family, but also the Genin-Team of Yugakure." The Hokage sighed and handed him a mission scroll.

"S-Rank?" muttered the Hatake with a quick glance at the scroll.

"Mission level raised due to state of emergency" explained the Nara beside him. "I'll have your new team report to you at the hotel."

"There is something else" said the Hokage quietly. "Haruka-san died in the attack. She was trying to protect the participants of the tourney."

Sakumo stared at the Hokage for a moment. Then he nodded silently. "I'll hurry to get this mission completed." He wanted to be back soon. If his sister's sensei had died, she needed his support.


	13. The Horrors of Loneliness

**The Horrors of Loneliness**

It was his first S-Rank mission since that cursed conflict, that had cost the life of one of his comrades and another trusted Ninken-companion. He still felt a bit out of shape, so he was understandably less than pleased at the increased mission rank. Even less so, since, as this was still part of his 'repaying a debt' unlike his teammates he was not payed. He assumed now that it was S-Rank he could demand payment, nobody in his right mind would actually presume a Jonin to do an S-Rank free of charge … Then again, he was committed to this mission and it didn't feel right to demand payment now – especially now since both the Hokage and the Daimyo had extra expenses anyway due to the state of emergency.

So, when he returned to the hotel and informed his teammates and employer that the mission had been upped to S-Rank and they were to leave on the morrow, he didn't even bring up the topic of payment again.

Their new teammates where two Jonin and a Chunin. He had worked with all of them before on minor missions, but he still felt like he was just thrown in an entirely new team and had no clue what to do. Both Jonin were quite a bit older than him, one of them in his early thirties was almost twice his age. It made for a weird situation. He was the youngest Jonin on the team, but because he'd had command previously and the Hokage for whatever reason had not chosen to relieve him of his command he was still team leader. The two Jonin, both of them not only older in age but also experience – serving a decade longer than him, were not exactly happy with the arrangement either. They didn't complain as the rules stated to follow command, but he felt their scrutinizing looks on him with every step he made.

Still, the mission went smoothly and after only a few days at least one of the Jonin started trusting his decision making. The other remained passively hostile to the end, and Sakumo hoped they wouldn't have to work with each other any time soon.

Before they left Yugakure, the Daimyo invited him to come back visit some time, but Sakumo didn't know whether he'd actually get the chance to do so. Shinobi didn't exactly get vacation days.

Like that, the year passed slowly. Back home his sister had made Chunin, as well as Saburo. There was talk about making Hiashi or even both the Hyuuga-twins Chunin as well, but ultimately, they were deemed too young. Sakumo assumed, that A was made Chunin as well, but that was Kumo-business, so he didn't know. Both the Raikage, the Tsuchikage, the Suna-ambassador as well as all the foreign Genin-squads left Konoha in a bit of a haste and while war had been prevented once more, the Chunin-Exams hadn't exactly increased friendship and relations between the nations.

His sister's team remained without a sensei for the better part of a year with Saburo and Sanae taking command of the squad in a weird joint-leadership-arrangement, that Sakumo had never seen before. Then, a young Jonin called Linglin was added to their team as squad captain.

When Winter came along and Sanae's team had left on their first long-term B-Rank mission that would keep her out of the village for at least six months, Sakumo's Team – still with Kenoah and Izumi – was sent on a short A-Rank to Suna.

After that his Team fell apart as Izumi started teaching at the Academy and Kenoah got promoted to Jonin. Akane at age 20 was promoted to the ANBU-black ops and forthwith carried the code name Mole and a porcelain mask to hide her identity.

She suggested he could join ANBU too, but however glamorous his mission-success rate was, they both knew, he was not the right type for ANBU. His moral standards were just a bit too high for the dirty ANBU work.

He was trying to not take all of this as abandonment, but when he was at home at the empty Hatake residence and he stared at the pictures of the old Team Kagami or his new Team Sakumo he couldn't ponder too much on it without feeling just a little bitter. Yashiro had left him, because he hadn't wanted to work with him anymore. The Uchiha was now part of an all Jonin-combat-team. Akane had not wanted to leave him, he knew she cared for him deeply, but her career had strayed from his and he couldn't even be mad about it. And Kagami-Sensei was dead. He thought about Hige, who had stopped being a ninja all together and started an apprenticeship with a local weapons smith. He thought about Kazuki, the comrade he had failed. He thought about Izumi teaching tiny pre-Genin how to throw kunai.

Mostly he'd avert his eyes from the pictures soon, before he'd fall into self-pity. The next day, he would ask for a difficult mission that would keep his mind elsewhere.

Mission-wise he was quite productive in these months. With nothing else to do, he cleared A-Rank and S-Rank missions in no time. Sometimes the Hokage sent him on a two man-S-Rank with Kenoah that was dangerous but not quite ANBU-leagues of immoral. Once he got to work with Jiraiya, Orochimaru and Tsunade on a mission that turned out quite combat heavy as they took down two S-rank-missing-nin. Mostly, though, he was sent on mediocre solo-missions. He started to hate solo-missions. He was not the kind of guy to work alone and for a trained shinobi to 'hate being alone' was a very uncommon thing. Still, his A-rank solo-missions went smoothly and although he didn't like it, he soon found out he was actually good at working alone. After all, he was nothing but effective.

Still, he missed the old days. On one day in late March he met Akane and they spoke of the old days – never mind that the old days were only three months in the past. Between her ANBU missions they met often to eat dango though he still didn't particularly like it. She couldn't tell him much about her classified missions, and that fact alone left a bit of a chasm between them. However, he was able to talk about his work and from what she told him at least he could gather that, while working for ANBU was tiring, she was also quite confident in doing something important for the village. At some point he started suspecting that she was part of a team consisting of three other ANBU by the nicknames Hawk, Whale and Boar, but of course he didn't know their true identities.

When Sanae came back in early June Akane and Sakumo were apparently already an 'item'. Sanae had told them, and even her teammates had agreed. Sakumo had blushed bright red, but Akane had paled. He had not understood then, why she reacted with fright rather than embarrassment or joy or … even denial. All things he'd have considered more natural.

She told him a few days later that as an ANBU-operative having a relationship with non-ANBU was seen as a dangerous risk, a potential security hazard, hindrance on her work … or even as weakness. He frowned at that. He was nobody's weakness. A Jonin since age 15 and still the strongest and most powerful in his year, slowly working his way up to become one of the most powerful in the whole village, he did not see himself as anybody's weakness. He was, after all, still sure, he could defeat Akane any day of the week. Well, maybe except for Thursday mornings. It was an ANBU-thing apparently that they got one free day a week to recover their strength and senses, so that they'll always be at full power. It was maybe the only luxury provided to ANBU that other Jonin did not have. While Sakumo had days without any missions, he did not have a fixed day a week to rest. Akane's resting day was Wednesday, so Thursday morning she was rested, fit and healthy and if Sakumo had a bad day or a tiring mission of his own, that was when she could crush him.

He told her, her fears were ridiculous. He could take care for himself, thank you very much. Still, she did not budge, so they stopped seeing each other regularly, and by September they stopped seeing each other at all.

Sakumo was frustrated and asked the Hokage for a new team, then. Sarutobi seemed a bit surprised at that. His solo-missions produced striking results, so he had thought about letting Sakumo work alone. He already had a solo-S-Rank mission prepared. Sakumo grumbled unhappily at that but ultimately took the mission, stating he'd be wanting a team after coming back.

Soon, he doubted he'd come back from this mission at all. The mission was as close to an ANBU-mission as he'd ever get. The Hokage had not sent an ANBU, because there was a special type needed. Namely, somebody who did not carry himself like a weapon, somebody with compassion and empathy.

It was the worst mission of his life. He silently hated the Hokage for putting him through this. On first glance the mission was a simple infiltration mission. Dress like a civilian, go into enemy territory unarmed and poor, get acquainted with the local people, get into the enemy lair, find a way to smuggle an ANBU-team in. The mission specifically stated that in case of a mission failure, suicide was preferred to capture.

He did ask the Hokage why he did not send an ANBU – this was a typical ANBU mission, after all –, and the Hokage simply stated, that it was not possible, and he would see why, but he could not give him much information as that would ruin the mission. He had a sorrowful look in his eyes and something that almost seemed like a plea for forgiveness and Sakumo had not understood, then.

He found out soon enough. Going to the small village in Ta no Kuni, the Land of the Rice Fields, he already knew from the mission details that it was currently run by a sheer tyranny of rogue shinobi. What he had not known was that the shinobi were all of one single clan with a rare Kekkei Genkai. Initially wondering, why the Hokage had omitted that part from his briefing, as well as the torture, the poverty … the human experiments taking place in this village, he understood after a few days that the Kekkei Genkai somehow involved being able to detect human emotions. This apparently included detecting liars.

It explained, why the Hokage could not sent an ANBU. He had needed a truly compassionate man, not somebody with either too cold a heart to care or coping mechanisms that would dull their emotions. The enemies would detect an ANBU's emotional dullness from afar and during his time there he even saw two ANBU from different villages probably in service of the Daimyo of Ta no Kuni get found out and one of them, that had not managed to commit suicide beforehand, get tortured to death in front of the gathered towns people.

No, in order to successfully infiltrate this place, his horror had to be true, his empathy had to be real … his suffering had to be honest. He was suffering. There was not a minute in this village that he was not terrified and on edge, afraid of being caught, afraid of seeing the people around him suffer, afraid of making one wrong step or causing the death of another.

There were children in the village, poor and starving and thin enough, he thought he could simply break them in two if he didn't take care. There were old people, frail and sickly and with eyes that had seen entirely too much loss and more often with a lack of will to live on and a silent wonderment why they were still alive when all their family was dead or dying. On his first days here, he hadn't been able to stop himself from caring for three kids and an elderly woman. Later he thought, this might have been a mistake, as all it got him was the pain of watching them suffer without being able to help. Soon, even he himself was starving and dying and needing help.

He would have abandoned the mission and killed the enemies all in an instant if he had thought he was able too. But starved as he was, and weakened he doubted he could have done that all by himself. Even worse, with all his speed he wouldn't be able to do a thing, before they'd blow up the entire village killing thousands in their wake. Maybe he'd survive, but the people he had grown to care about would die in an instant. The enemies held the entire village captive, and him with them.

He watched one of the kids die, another was dragged away for experimenting and the old lady starved only a few weeks after he had arrived in the village. He decided, there was nothing else to do than finish the mission. He also knew, there was no other way to get into the enemy's lair than to get taken for experimentation. So, he got a bit of attention and struggled half-heartedly when they dragged him away. And he saw the small boy, the only one left of that small dysfunctional family he had put-together during his stay here, cry and scream at his captors in anger and fear.

They did not know he was a shinobi, so there were no chakra seals or barriers or even sturdy chains to hold him. They saw him as nothing but a test subject, an animal maybe. Alone, almost naked in a dark cell, he managed to draw a summoning seal on the stone ground with nothing but his own blood. The ANBU that plopped into the cell before him just threw his starved, bloodied and battered figure a quick glance, before taking out a hand full of scrolls and summoning his team into the cell.

There was a silent "Good work, Hatake-san", before the ANBU-team left him lying on the floor to silently murder their way through the facility.

That day, a clan went extinct, but he hardly cared. They came back for him barely two hours later, brought him new clothes and steadied him on their way out of the facility. On his way up, he found out, that they had not only killed the clan, but quite a few of the 'test subjects' as well. Civilians, children … He felt like vomiting, but his stomach was empty.

When they left the lair his hands and lips were trembling and his entire body shaking with something he did not know whether it was physical weakness or mental trauma. A bit of both maybe.

An ANBU-operative embraced him at the outskirts of the village and he needed a moment to connect the ANBU 'Mole' with his former teammate Akane. He almost laughed out loud, then. It felt scathing and aching against his throat to even so much as chuckle and he was closer to retching than being amused.

She had been right, he thought. Compared to ANBU he was weak. He didn't even know whether he wanted their kind of strength, the ability to just shut off his emotions. He was, truly, a failure for a shinobi, he thought, when he realized he was crying. A shinobi did not show tears nor weaknesses. And here he sat a crying, trembling, weak mess. Some of the ANBU around him were looking down at him and he imagined indignant frowns behind their masks, but nobody said anything. Akane was embracing him and trying to get him away from the village, instead he pushed her away and trembled down the main road searching for the boy he had left behind.

He found the boy injured but fine a few minutes later, but the kid was just scowling up at him looking angry and spiteful. "You're a ninja?" he screamed angrily. "Why didn't you do anything, when they killed Hana? Or when they took Sora away?" Sakumo just froze where he stood when the kid hit him in the stomach. "You could've saved them. But you just watched!"

The boy ran away before Sakumo could stop him. Sakumo stared after him unable to even think anything that would contradict the boy's hurtful words. He blamed himself. He had been too weak to do a thing.

Akane was next to him again putting an arm around his shoulder. "You did what you could" she tried but he just shook his head. It was not enough.

"I was too weak." He mumbled the words more to himself than to her. "If I had been stronger I might have been able to …"

"You kept to the mission. You did nothing wrong" said Akane trying to console him.

He shook his head forlornly. That was not, what he had meant. If he had just been a bit stronger, he could have defeated all of them, killed them before they could have killed the kids, ended the mission before the old lady would have starved to death. He would have abandoned the mission in an instant for that. He would have just done all that himself, instead of waiting for the ANBU. It wasn't like it made a difference whether it was Sakumo or the ANBU who killed the enemy, right? But he had been too weak. Pathetic …

They were back in Konoha and the Hokage looked at him with apologetic eyes and Sakumo wanted to ask him, scream at him why he had taken Sakumo for that mission and not somebody – anybody else. He didn't though. He knew the answer and Sakumo was a shinobi of the Hidden Leaf who would serve his village in any way he was ordered to. The Hokage offered him a new team. Sakumo declined. He did not want a team anymore. He felt filthy and disgusting and he was sure whatever he would touch now, he'd just ruin it.

The Hokage understood and gave him a few days break.

His mission had been classified so nobody of his fellow Jonin who were not in ANBU knew what had happened. They knew he had taken a few days off after a particularly nasty mission, but that was it. It was uncommon for Jonin – shinobi in general – to take vacations or leave of work, so it was no surprise that rumours started early on.

There was talk about a mental break down and speculations for the reason. Some said he'd never had the stomach to be a shinobi in the first place. He'd always been just a bit too soft. It was a shame really, for all his natural fighting skill, but not everybody was cut out for that line of work. Others thought he was being ridiculous and just acting up. Maybe a late form of puberty, he was only barely 19 years old after all.

After a few days, the curiosity would shift to patronizing mock and then to all out ridicule. For the White Fang to fall so low, that he'd need a four-week vacation. There were people coming home half dead and still they were in the field again much sooner. The ANBU were the only ones who seemed to understand, but even they started losing their respect for him. He assumed they dealt with similar situations on routine.

He didn't care. He didn't even care when Sanae tried to rile him up with some choice words, not actually insulting but at least scathing.

He wanted to be left alone and it was Akane who got him out of that depression. He wondered what happened to 'their relationship being a security hazard' but apparently, she had stopped caring about that. Akane managed to build him up again. Maybe it was the fact that she had been the one person, who had worked for so long with him, without him ruining it to a point where she didn't want to have anything to do with him – or worse was dead.

He was moody, and he knew it, but he needed her to tell him. He was 20 years old and it was like life suddenly made sense again. Being sent to a foreign village to meet people he had started to care deeply about only to see them die … it had almost destroyed him, but after months of loneliness life looked a lot brighter.


	14. Strategic Command

**Strategic Command**

Akane stayed with ANBU, they would not build a new team, but he was put into another team. The Hokage made him part of the Strategic Command Centre headed by Shikaruma Nara. It felt like after 5 years of being a Jonin and commander in his own right, he was now back to be a trainee. He and a Hyuuga he hardly knew were the new members of the command centre to be further educated into not just squad leaders but battlefield commanders. Sakumo didn't miss that his training was specifically suited for war-time. There were other hints that war was brewing again. An increasing number of students finished the academy at age 10 or younger instead of the by now established age of 12, most Genin were made Chunin within the first year of service and border patrols increased.

During one of their dates he asked Akane about it. Sakumo had the impression she knew something about it, but apparently it was still classified. As member of the Strategic Command Centre he had higher clearance than before, but it still wasn't enough. He didn't exactly know whether he wanted to know, to be honest. After his one mission with ANBU he didn't want to have anything to do with them. Akane still was an ANBU and that was about as much as he wanted to be involved with them. He feared being subjected to more of their secret doings, he'd fall back into his depression.

Dating an ANBU was something one had to get used to. Akane would be gone for most nights and sometimes for days without saying anything. As a member of Strategic Command, he wasn't send out on missions quite that often, anymore. Still, between his missions and hers they had hardly any time for themselves. Mostly their relationship consisted of quick dates between missions, lunch on Wednesday and some joint training exercises. Sometimes, mostly Wednesdays they'd find the time to do something else together. Sometimes, there were days and weeks in which they hardly if at all saw each other, and if they did there was no time for more than a quick wave and a smile.

He knew, Akane didn't talk about her relationship in ANBU. It was an ANBU-thing that even if you were to have a relationship with a non-ANBU you were not to talk about it – especially not during work. It was seen as advantageous if the ANBU-operatives didn't know too much about each other. Of course, there were joint training sessions to further their teamwork, but to Sakumo it seemed like they tried not to see each other as individuals, just in case they had to leave one of their teammates behind during a mission. There was always a part of him that feared he'd lose Akane as he had lost his brother. Then, he tried to remember, that Akane was not a front fighter but provided support in battle. Something had to go seriously wrong for her to die or even get hurt. He knew, things could always go wrong, but he had faith in her … and in her commander, though he hardly knew the man with the codename 'boar'. Akane only had good things to say about him and Sakumo trusted her judge of character.

Well, Akane could not speak about her boyfriend at work … he could. There was not really a way to prevent his colleagues from finding out. His fellow youngster in the command centre, the Hyuuga, had seen them together and made quite the rude joke at work. Rude for a Hyuuga at least. Sakumo could not remember ever hearing something quite that direct from anybody from that clan. In fact, Takeru Hyuua blushed almost as much as Sakumo did.

"You have to treat her well. Women are just tiresome, especially if they are in ANBU. Tiresome and dangerous" said their chief. "Treat her well, or she'll have your head." There was a nervous smirk on the Nara's face, before sobering up and coughing: "Anyway, keep your private business out of working hours."

Sakumo really liked Shikaruma Nara. He was a typical Nara, one might say. Lazy beyond comprehension. Practical, he kept saying. "I just don't do stuff that's unnecessary. It's tiresome. So much wasted energy." The Nara just shrugged if anyone called him lazy. "I have a lot of work to do for being chief strategist you know. If I'd take care of everything myself, I'd never catch a break."

Whatever he called himself, it didn't change the fact that he was indeed lazy. He pushed the majority of his daily workload on his underlings. Sometimes, Sakumo thought the strategic meetings with the Hokage were the only thing he attended himself. Of course, he soon found out that there was a lot more, but after finding his boss asleep in his study at lunch time the third day in a row … Well, the first impression just stuck with him. Still, he'd never underestimate the man. He was easily the most intelligent man in Konoha, Sakumo was sure of it.

Sometimes Shikaruma thought they had too much free time. Those were rare enough moments, as mostly he was happy if there was nothing to do, and if there was something he did his best to not do it personally. But sometimes he'd step out of his room yawning and ask them what they were doing. Before they could even answer he waved at them.

"Are you bored, too?" he would ask. Or "Well, I don't really care, anyway." Then he'd ask them to follow him into the common room of Strategic Command and set up a shogi board.

This was another of those days:

"We still have to assign A-Rank missions for the week" sighed Takeru half-heartedly as they watched Shikaruma slump down on a chair cushion. "And there's the S-Rank to Suna to take care of." The Hyuuga frowned at their superior.

"Ah, Takeru, you're no fun at all." Shikaruma waved at them to sit down opposite him. "Bring the game board if you want to do something."

Sakumo scratched his head. "The Suna-mission is quite important" said Sakumo thoughtfully. "It's a double assassination. And we still don't know who to send."

"Why, we just send you, Hatake" said Shikaruma and waved at them more impatiently. "Now, come here, sit down and play against me. You can play at the same time, if you want." He pouted a bit at being made to wait that long. "Just take it as another training exercise."

"Me?" stammered Sakumo, but he sat down with Shikaruma and Takeru. The Hyuuga as commanded brought the game boards.

"Of course, you. You worked on that mission for what, now? Thirty minutes? You're both smart men that's why I took you into my team. You didn't get that Sakumo-san's the ideal candidate?"

"I don't see how I'm ideal" said Sakumo while putting up the pieces on the board.

Takeru seemed to think about it, then shrugged. "You kind of are" sighed Takeru after a moment, "we just didn't think about you."

Sakumo frowned at that.

"You know … mission specifications: experience with assassination, Fuuton-mastery, S-Rank, solo-mission." Takeru shrugged.

"Well, sure" admitted Sakumo. "But I don't do solo-missions anymore and I don't normally do assassinations."

"I know, I know" said Shikaruma waving impatiently. "It's tiresome, of course. But you did have four assassination missions prior to this one. That's not half bad for somebody who was never in ANBU. And whether you like it or not, you work well alone; unless you don't want to take it? I could ask Danzo, I assume, but that man has stopped taking missions from me ten years ago. Arrogant prick. And, you know, we can't send ANBU, because … well, the assassination needs a face. Suna has to know it was us, so they know they can't just kill our own and think there will be no retaliation."

Sakumo sighed dejectedly. "Do I have a choice?"

"We never really do" sighed the Nara tiredly. "Make your first move, Sakumo. You too, Takeru."

He lost that game of Shogi like, really, every game of Shogi he'd ever play with that man. The next day he'd leave for his new S-Rank mission to Suna.

Wind-chakra was necessary because it made travelling through the Land of Wind undetected so much easier. And because there were places one could literally not find – never mind reach – without Fuuton.

He travelled fast and with hardly a break. It was early spring, still it was hot enough at noon, that he took a small break and tried to hide in the shadows when the sun was highest. The nights were cold, and he decided to travel through the first night against his better judgement. The next morning, he realized he'd drifted off course quite a bit and had to track his own scent back, which was a bit of a pain. He was halfway to Suna and he was already happy, that Konoha was not in the middle of the desert. Even his Doton-Jutsu didn't feel quite the same with this dry sand. Once, he tried to use a mudwall against a sand storm. The wall was crumbling to a pile of soft sand in an instant, leaving him defenceless against the storm. He had to sacrifice half his chakra to form a wind cyclone around him to protect himself. After that he had to spend the better half of a day trying to dig himself out of that hole.

Nevertheless, his mission went – for lack of a better word – great. He managed to find his targets as soon as he made his way to Suna. He didn't dare do the deed in the city, so he waited a few days for the couple to leave the boundaries of the village.

He had the woman killed before she could even get her weapons ready. The man fought back best he could, but Sakumo was not one of the fastest shinobi for nothing, even on this sandy ground he was still faster than most shinobi were on solid ground.

His sword bloody he turned. There was a Suna patrol closing in on him. He waited for them to come a bit closer.

"You're Hatake Sakumo." A man with face-paint on his cheeks said. "The one they call the White Fang of Konoha."

Sakumo flicked his sword to the side sprinkling blood on the sand, before he cleansed the blade against his trousers and put it back on the sheath on his back. "I am."

The Suna-nin narrowed his eyes. "What is this about?"

"I've fulfilled my mission" replied the White Fang. "Tell the Kazekage: Konoha doesn't take lightly to citizens of the Land of Fire being murdered by his shinobi."

The Suna-nin gritted his teeth. "These two had nothing to do with that." He shook his head still on guard. "The Kazekage had nothing to do with it either."

"I don't care" rambled Sakumo on. "In the last six months fifteen of our citizens were murdered by a group of Suna-nin. We asked for the attacks to stop, they didn't. We asked for the attacker's names and heads, we didn't get an answer. We asked for the attackers to be brought to justice in Suna and there was no reaction from your leader. We are not at war, but we can't just ignore if shinobi from Suna repeatedly cross our borders and murder our people." He raised his hands, which made his adversary tense in anticipation. "So, tell your Kazekage, if these attacks do not stop immediately, next time, we will not just kill two of his most loyal Jonin, but answer each of our losses in kind."

Sakumo didn't dare to wait any longer, as he formed quick hand signs for a Fuuton-Jutsu and created a sand storm out of nowhere.

He was gone before the wind dissipated.

He thought about whether Suna would remember, that it had been him, killing those two. He was gaining enemies quickly, he thought. Kumo didn't particularly like him. Neither did Suna, now. Two out of the five big nations. He should ask the Hokage not to be sent against Iwa or Kiri, or soon Konoha would be the only one of the big five, that would like him, still. Well, he assumed it was alright. He was a Konohashinobi, after all. What did he care what shinobi and citizen in other villages thought of him?

He hurried to get back to the Land of Fire. He didn't even pause throughout the hot hours right after noon. Only when he was back in the well-known forests of the Land of Fire did he slow down a bit.


	15. Blossoms of Spring

**Blossoms of Spring**

Of all teams he met Yashiro's new team on his way back to Konoha. He joined his old teammate on his way back. They talked about old times and new teammates. Sakumo told Yashiro about Shikaruma's unbeaten score in shogi and Yashiro acquainted him with his team leader. A Jonin from the Yuuhi-family and their two teammates, both grown up as orphans, both fairly young to be Jonin. One of them was proclaiming proudly how he was going to be Hokage one day. The other was a bit more serious. Sakumo didn't think either of them had what it took to become Hokage. They were both eighteen years old and reminded him of a young Jiraiya with none of Jiraiya's talent.

When they arrived at Konoha they walked up to the Hokage residence together to report their mission success. Sakumo let them go first, so while he waited in front of the Hokage's office he thought about their time as Genin. When Yashiro's team came back out of the office, he asked whether they wanted to train later, like in the old days. Yashiro frowned, then grinned and nodded his consent.

Reporting the success of his mission was a boring thing. He thought about asking the Hokage not to put him in charge of any assassinations again. Then he remembered, that it had been the Nara who had done it, and that Sakumo had consented, and that it was his duty as a shinobi, anyway, to do as he was told. The Hokage informed him, that Sanae's last teammate had made Chunin during his absence, but he had already gathered as much. He also asked how Sakumo was doing in Shikaruma's Strategic Command division.

"Fine" said Sakumo curtly. "Shikaruma is a strange man, but we get along well."

"He told me you had talent. He also said, while you have the making to be a great commander, you'd be severely missed on the battlefield." The Hokage smiled wistfully. "We think about promoting you to field-commander."

Sakumo looked quizzically. "There is no war, yet." He was aware of the over-all atmosphere … it basically smelled of war. But still, it seemed premature to promote field-commanders just yet, putting him in a position he wouldn't be able to fulfil for possibly years.

"No, it's not," consented the Hokage, "yet, anyway."

"It's that bad?"

There was a tired smile from the Hokage. "Tell me, Sakumo-san. Do you remember the last war?"

Sakumo frowned. "The Great Shinobi War?" There had been minor wars and smaller conflicts in between years, but he didn't think the Hokage was talking about that. "Hardly. My family fought in it. I would have fought in it, too, but then the Nidaime built the Academy."

"He did that" said the Hokage smiling. "I had wished my son would not know war, you know? Not like this. But I don't think there's any stopping it, now." He waved tiredly. "All we can do is hope for another few years. I want you to keep up training. If war were to start, you, Jiraiya, Orochimaru and Tsunade might just make the difference."

Sakumo blinked at that. His fame had died down a bit since he was first called the White Fang. After he had first gained that name, the kids in the street had aspired to be like him, his sister had tried to look and fight just like him, his fellow Jonin had respected and Genin and Chunin, especially the younger ones, had looked up to him. Some had rumoured he were a prime candidate to become Hokage. For just half a year the same people who had speculated, that Orochimaru would be the next big thing, called his name when talking about the future of the Leaf. This admiration had died down quickly. For a time, he was still respected and admired, but the excitement had waned as people quickly got used to his new nickname and just started to accept that there was now another famous Konoha-shinobi. There were a bunch of legendary shinobi still alive in the Leaf and most were nothing too special. They had done one great thing or another, and people talked about their deeds with respect or spoke their names with admiration but meeting them on the street was not all that special anymore. After a while, all that was left of his initial fame and legend was a considerably high bounty in the Bingo Books of their enemies. Then after that damned mission that had left him mentally scarred for months, 'The White Fang' had been spoken as a means to ridicule him. 'Look at him, Konoha's White Fang can't handle being a shinobi.' 'It's really a shame. The White Fang might have been a good fighter once, but I heard he hardly even leaves his house, now. I guess, after all, skill is not everything. They say he was one of the best in the Academy, but now he's hardly 19 and they say he'll quit being shinobi altogether.' People had gone back to saying Orochimaru would be the next Hokage, or maybe Danzo, after all. And even when he'd resumed his job as Jonin, some had taken the fact, that he had been made a member of the command centre under Shikaruma as a sign that he was not fit to do field missions anymore. Even Jiraiya had tiptoed around him for a few days, until Sakumo had snapped at him, that it had nothing to do with his mental state, that he was made a member of command rather than being sent out into action.

It had been a while since anybody – let alone the Hokage – had expressed any sort of faith in his abilities, or even called his name in the same breath with Jiraiya and co. Had the Hokage really just said, Sakumo might be one of the people carrying Konoha through the next war? Sakumo didn't particularly look forward to war, but that felt good anyway. He was still way too easily flattered, he realized as he blushed and scratched the back of his head.

"Hehe" he laughed like an idiot, before he managed to sober up a little. "Thank you, Hokage-sama."

"Idiot" muttered the Hokage under his breath. "There's nothing nice about being the one burdened with the well-being of the village during times of war, let me tell you."

Sakumo couldn't quite wipe the grin off his face, anyway.

"When you act like that I remember when you were standing in my office with Kagami and little Yashiro and Akane after we gave you that mission to drain the river of garbage after the flood."

"That is over ten years ago, Hokage-sama" smiled the Hatake thinking about the old times.

"Is it? I saw Yashiro earlier. Time's passed. He might be ready to take his own team, now." The Hokage seemed to be lost in memories.

"I'm sure he'll be happy to hear. He always wanted his own team." Sakumo still thought that was one of the reasons why Yashiro had asked to be put into another team. So that he could maybe get his own command rather than working under the Hatake.

"I know, I know." The Sarutobi looked at him critically. "I thought, he was still too young. Just 18. But you were 17 when we gave you your first S-Rank as a commander. If I had been in the village, then, I would have denied you back then, too. Too young. But Kagami believed in you. And he was right."

Sakumo didn't want to contradict him. He had not been ready, really. He had made a mistake and Kizuke and Blue had died. Maybe he could even have saved Kagami-Sensei, somehow. But he didn't want to express doubt in one of his sensei's last decisions. He had known, that Kagami believed in him back then, still, it felt nice to be reminded of it once more.

"I had command during several minor missions before" said Sakumo thoughtfully. "And I think Orochimaru was even younger when he first took command. Even Jiraiya and Tsunade were the same age."

There was a small pause. The Hokage blinked at him, then smiled. "Yes" admitted the man. "I guess being blessed with three students like those I somehow overlooked that there were other promising young shinobi in the village." Sakumo felt himself blush again. "But you had only been a shinobi for barely seven years then. Orochimaru became Genin at age 6" added the Hokage thoughtfully.

"You thought, we were weaker than other Genin, because we spent our youth in the Academy instead of fighting in war?" asked Sakumo understandingly. He had thought the same, once. Now he was sure, that Sakumo himself, even Akane and many other graduates of the Academy could take on most of those shinobi who had never seen the interior of a classroom in their lifetime. The Hokage didn't answer, but Sakumo saw that he had made the right assumption in the silent smile on the man's face. "I don't think it was the Nidaime's plan to raise weaker shinobi, when he established the Academy" added Sakumo mildly.

There was a sputtering from the Hokage. Then the man blushed a bit and looked out of the window. "No. You're right. It was not." There was a silent pause. "Do you know why he built the Academy?"

"He wanted us to have a childhood" said Sakumo. When the Hokage didn't immediately say something, he added: "I wanted to graduate at age 8, I remember."

"Why didn't you?" The Hokage looked surprised. Had he not known?

Sakumo was a bit taken aback. Somehow, he had never thought that aside from the people who had been there back then, nobody probably knew about that conversation he had with the Nidaime. He wondered if he should feel bad at admitting, that he had enjoyed the peaceful academy, when he could have helped his village during war. "I think, it was worth it, being a child just once" said the Hatake carefully. The Hokage prompted him to go on. "I wanted to graduate. I knew, I had all the skill. But the Hokage, the Nidaime Hokage asked us to wait, so I did."

That seemed to surprise the Sarutobi. "Tobirama asked you to wait? I did not know that. What did he say?"

Sakumo frowned in thought. He tried to remember, but it was a dozen years ago. "Something about his brother's dream, I think. I don't remember the details. But it boiled down to giving us the chance to be children before we were soldiers."

The Hokage stared at him. Then he suddenly slumped a bit in his seat. He seemed older than just a few minutes before. "I had not known" the Hokage admitted. Sakumo frowned quizzically. "I thought … Oh, I'm an idiot."

After it was obvious that there was not much more to come Sakumo couldn't help but ask. "What did you think?"

"Nothing … It's nothing. I just found out, I hadn't understood his will to begin with."

Sakumo frowned. He tried to think about what he had said, then he thought about what he knew about the Sarutobi's politics. He furrowed his brows in thought. "You thought it was just to raise more shinobi?" asked Sakumo. It made sense, he thought. It was after all what he had thought at first. Of course, the Hokage was no child, as he had been, but in times of war, he assumed the basic need for more soldiers was something very real that even a child could understand. And just because a child understood it, didn't in mean it was wrong, right? It explained why so many students had suddenly graduated prematurely when Sarutobi had come into office. "Hm … The Academy was a good thing, to teach the shinobi arts to civilian children or orphans who had no family to train them. But it was useless for kids from shinobi families. Just a waste of time, really." He wasn't assuming what the Hokage had thought back then, those had been his own thoughts.

The Hokage looked at him in surprise. "So, you know, what I had thought?"

Sakumo chuckled silently. "No, that was what I had thought, when I was first sent to the academy. I wanted to become a Genin and get a Jonin-Sensei and go to war." He shrugged.

The Hokage blushed a bit. "So, a six-year-old thought the same thing I thought." He seemed a bit embarrassed and angered.

"I was wondering why so many students of Clan families were graduating so early after you took office" Sakumo admitted. "Of course, not when there is peace and everything. But every time there are signs of war masses of students graduate from the academy."

"So, you noticed?" The Hokage looked tired. "As I said, I am an idiot."

Sakumo didn't really know what to say to that. He didn't think the Hokage was an idiot. But he didn't agree with pulling academy students into their ranks either. Still, he wasn't one of the Hokage's councillors, to presume to judge him. Thankfully, the Hokage gave him the 'go ahead' to speak. Sakumo sighed silently.

"I don't think so. If there is war brewing it makes sense to prepare the kids. If this war takes half as long as the last did, they'll have to fight soon enough" started the Hatake.

"But?" The Hokage smiled with a raised eyebrow.

"But …" Sakumo started a bit uncertainly. "I think it's possible to leave them in the Academy and still prepare them. Sure, the Academy is not the same as field experience. They'll kill their first man and they'll watch comrades die, and they'll probably freeze up like every unexperienced shinobi will … but …" He shrugged. "Most pre-teens when they graduate, if they are sent to war immediately, they don't survive their first battle, do they? Of course, there are exceptions. The good ones survive, like Jiraiya and his team. But the mediocre ones … they just die. Being mediocre in war is a dead sentence. Being mediocre and a pre-teen … well." He didn't need to say it. "Even the genius pre-teens are at a disadvantage. To be honest, even genius teens are at a physical disadvantage." He shrugged again. "When I was a kid, I thought, I just wasted my time in the academy. That to become strong I had to learn from experience in war. But in truth, most kids don't get stronger in war, they just die … or break." He looked towards the window. "I thought I had wasted my time in the academy. But by the time I graduated with age ten I was already at Chunin level nonetheless. My Exams were a breeze. And with a bit of personal training by Kagami-Sensei, even Akane, who was nowhere near top of the class, became one of the best Jonin I know." He sighed. "What I'm trying to say is … Jiraiya, Orochimaru and Tsunade, they are not exceptional because they've seen war. They are exceptional because they … just are. They are talented. Most kids aren't like that. Taking them out of the academy prematurely just kills them. Even if they have the general skills of a Genin."

"So?" asked the Hokage suddenly smiling, "what do you suggest?"

"Looking at the Academy. With right teaching, the Academy can give talented pupils the right incentives to become just as strong if not stronger as they would get in war. Sure, nothing can substitute true field experience, but it makes a major difference, whether we sent a bunch of ten-year-olds to the battlefield and they freeze up or if we sent a bunch of teenagers and they freeze up but might just be physically strong enough to take a blow. And if somebody is really too good, that his skill is deteriorating in the academy you could still make exceptions and make them Genin early or give them a private teacher."

The Hokage suddenly laughed. "You know, I think those kids will kill me, if I were to tell them, nobody under 12 can graduate."

Sakumo grinned. "Probably." He would have, he thought. Back when he had still thought the Academy was a giant nuisance.

"You were right, Sakumo" the Hokage said finally. "Tobirama-sama wouldn't have built the Academy to raise weaker shinobi. For too long we have taken it for granted, that kids would fight our fights for us, haven't we?"

Sakumo didn't know what to say to that.

"You have given me some things to think about. You're dismissed."

The Hatake bowed silently and left the office. He remained in the building for another hour or two, checking up with the Strategic Command Centre to give his report to his boss, too.

He met Yashiro on the training field later that day. There was another man, that Sakumo still remembered from the Academy. They had a brutal three-way-battle. Yashiro had gotten better. A lot. He had gotten faster, and he had obviously trained his other assets aside from Sharingan and Katon. Sakumo in the end managed to win solely by using the third participant against Yashiro with a deceitful technique that forced the two to attack each other rather than him. Sakumo wasn't too proud of the victory. He had gotten sluggish, he thought. The last months had been entirely too comfortable sitting in his office and learning strategy instead of combat.

He would ask Jiraiya or Orochimaru to train with him. He found the Toad-Sage in his favourite establishment. He was lingering behind the wooden wall of the Konoha hot springs.

"Is Tsunade there?" Sakumo asked a tad too loudly – of course entirely on purpose – which made Jiraiya jump. The Toad-Sage stormed in his direction and tackled him to the ground pressing his palm over Sakumo's mouth and nose making it almost impossible for him to breath. It was too late, though, as the noises from the hot springs were evidence enough that they had been spotted.

"You're an asshole, Wannabe" grumbled Jiraiya.

"I thought you'd be happy to see me" laughed Sakumo innocently. "And you should get away from here. You've been discovered."

Jiraiya turned a dark shade of red glancing backwards with a bit of fear. There was nobody there, yet, but apparently, he didn't want to risk a certain angry kunoichi finding them, so he ran. Sakumo bellowed a harsh laughter before jogging behind Jiraiya with ease.

"What do you want, Wannabe?" asked Jiraiya after they came to a sudden halt outside a cheap Ramen shop, that Jiraiya loved.

Sakumo frowned, but he didn't ask Jiraiya to stop using that nickname. After they had started calling Sakumo the 'White Fang' and all begging and pleading from Jiraiya had not made the general public rename him in 'Grey Fang' or something similarly ridiculous, Jiraiya had just given up and started calling him 'Wannabe Whitey' or for short 'Wannabe'. It had driven Sakumo crazy the first few months. By now, though, he had grown oddly attached to the new nickname.

"Come, I'll treat you to some Ramen. And you stop being so grumpy" compromised Sakumo.

"Maybe, you shouldn't have ruined my ... whatever you shouldn't have interrupted me, if you wanted me in a good mood." But Jiraiya didn't decline his invitation. Jiraiya never declined an invitation for Ramen.

"Yes, Yes" Sakumo raised his hands in apology. "I'm sorry. It wasn't on purpose" lied the Hatake.

"Yeah, sure" grunted Jiraiya sarcastically, basically plummeting down on one of the bar stools, while Sakumo ordered their Ramen. "Anyway, what do you want?"

"Really, I'm considering not coming back from my next mission at all, if that's how I'm greeted" groaned Sakumo indignantly. "I could buy a farm out on the countryside and get better friends than you. People who don't call me insulting nicknames and smile when they see me." He sounded as if he were describing a dream, glancing at his friend.

"You're no fun, Sakumo. Don't try to be. Between the two of us, I'm the funny guy. You're only good to ruin my fun. As evidently …" He made a very general gesture.

"I did apologize for that" sighed Sakumo.

"Yes, you did" admitted Jiraiya. "So, you were on a mission?"

"I was gone for almost two weeks. Don't tell me you didn't miss me" cried Sakumo indignantly.

"Two good weeks" teased Jiraiya. "I was wondering why everything went so smoothly. Now I know. No traitorous friend trailing behind me." Jiraiya grinned at him as their Ramen arrived. "But good thing you're on missions again. Itadakimasu!"

Sakumo sighed. "This was really only a one-time thing. I'm back in Strategic Command, for now." As Jiraiya only grunted slurping his soup, Sakumo took his chopsticks. "Itadakimasu."

There was a short pause of slurping and munching before Jiraiya finished. The man could eat in a speed that made other people blush. "So, a one-time thing, huh? What was it?"

"Assassination" said Sakumo finishing his own bowl. Jiraiya quieted down at that.

"Assassination?" he sounded a bit surprised.

"As I said, a one-time thing. There was no one else to do it."

"What about ANBU? Not like they exist precisely for that sort of thing" sighed Jiraiya. "You know, if those were the only missions I'd be sent out on, I'd prefer to stay in the village, too."

"I told you it's not like that. I didn't choose to work with Shikaruma-san just because I wanted to stay out of the field. It just happened. Not that I don't like it. Shikaruma-san is good to work with." He really had enough of people thinking he was mentally fragile or something like that. Even Jiraiya …

"I bet he is" smiled Jiraiya. "It's always fun to work with the Nara. Lazy bunch, but they are good people. Shikaruma is, anyway."

"But terrifyingly smart" added Sakumo.

"For you to call somebody 'terrifyingly smart'" snorted Jiraiya. "So, it's true, then? I heard about it, but it's hard to believe. You know … Growing up with Hirzuen-Sensei and all. When he first said, he lost against that Nara in Shogi I couldn't believe it."

"I can't imagine anybody winning against Shikaruma-san, to be honest. Anyway" Sakumo hesitated for a moment. "I'm not exactly here to discuss Shikaruma. I had a training fight with Yashiro earlier."

Jiraiya's eyes darkened just a bit. "So, he's back? Did he realize he'd been a giant prick?"

"I don't know." Sakumo blinked taken aback. "Didn't say anything about it. We just sparred a little and he did get really good."

"Hardly" grumbled Jiraiya. "Anyway, if he hasn't realized that he's been an asshole, I don't want to know anything about him."

"I don't know if he has realized … What do you even …? Ah, forget it." Sakumo waved the topic away. Jiraiya had been angrier with Yashiro for leaving the original Team Kagami than Sakumo had ever been.

"If he hasn't apologized to you he obviously hasn't realized a thing" rumbled Jiraiya. Then he too waved the topic away. "So, what is it?"

"I … Well, I realized I've gotten a bit rusty. Sitting in the village and everything." It was a bit embarrassing to admit.

Jiraiya looked at him for a moment, then blinked, then laughed. "Haha! For you to admit that, it must be really bad. Told you, you'll get all weak and wobbly if you just sit around." Sakumo pouted at that. He was NOT 'weak and wobbly'. "Wannabe wants to be trained. Is that it? And you come to me?"

"Well, I wanted to ask you, whether you could ask Orochimaru for me" said Sakumo spitefully just to rile Jiraiya up. "I never know where to search for him." Jiraiya glowered at him and looked as if he were about to beat Sakumo up. Sakumo, acutely aware that at the moment Jiraiya would probably be able to pummel him, raised his hands in silent surrender. "Just joking."

"You better be" grunted Jiraiya approvingly. "I could train you. There are some new Jutsus, I'd like to try. I need a sparring partner anyway. Can't use Orochimaru … for obvious reasons."

"Cause you plan to use it against him" nodded Sakumo knowingly. It was always the same with those two. "I'll gladly play test subject for you" he offered generously "if I can test my own new tricks as well."

Jiraiya grunted distrustfully. "I thought you had grown sluggish. Now, you suddenly have new techniques?"

Sakumo smiled secretive. "I've grown a bit slow, I thought. But I've spent my last months with Konoha's strategic mastermind. You think I've learned nothing new? Honestly, I think I can play circles around you in Shogi."

"We're not going to play Shogi" reminded Jiraiya, then he hesitated, "Are we?"

Sakumo laughed. "No, don't worry. I just mean I've learned to be a bit more tactical in battle."

Jiraiya stared at him, then groaned in annoyance. "As if you've ever been not tactical …"

"I've become better at it" shrugged Sakumo but Jiraiya just looked, as if the Toad-Sage feared he had just signed his death warrant.

It was the night after his return to Konoha and his meeting with both Yashiro and Jiraiya when Akane silently crept into his bedroom. He was immediately on his feet prepared for an attack before he recognized her. She was dirty and had apparently just returned from a mission. He glanced at the ANBU uniform and the mask in her hand.

"What is it?" asked the Hatake a bit confused when she suddenly hugged him.

"Nothing" mumbled Akane. "Just hold me for a moment."


	16. Who hates Romance?

**Who hates Romance?**

He never found out what it was that made her turn to him after that mission. He didn't know what kind of mission it had been, nor what exactly she needed from him. He just held her. She had asked for a moment, but after ten minutes she had fallen asleep against his shoulder and he had lifted her into his arms and carried her to the Futon. He had cut her armour away and thrown her uniform and her mask into a pile on the floor and then he had held her the entire night.

The next morning, they were both a bit embarrassed at their messy state. They were dishevelled from sleep, and dirt and blood from her clothes had rubbed off on his, too. It was absolutely not romantic, and she apologized profusely before running into his bathroom to shower. He hadn't exactly minded, but he would need to buy a new Futon, as his old was now slick with sweat and dirt and blood. It had not been their first shared night, and they had kissed a few times before, but still somehow it had been rather intimate – and a bit of a disaster in retrospective, he thought, looking down at the Futon and the blood of who knew whom?

He showered after her.

"What happened yesterday?" Sakumo asked not expecting an answer and not getting one. "Are you hurt?" She shook her head and he gave her a once over but couldn't see any obvious injuries through the clothes she had put on. By now she had a few of her things at his house. "Let's have breakfast."

They ate mostly in silence.

"You had a mission" started Akane after a while. He raised an eyebrow at her. "I missed you. It's easy to get used to you always being here." He nodded in understanding. "I heard it was an assassination." He grunted in confirmation. "Are you alright?"

At that he looked up at her and frowned. He was no frail child unable to handle myself. "I am" said Sakumo after a moment. She seemed doubtful. "Truly." The Hatake sighed. "It was not my first assassination after all."

She looked at him for another second or two. Then she nodded. "Yes, right." She seemed a bit embarrassed.

"When has it become you worrying about me and not the other way around?" wondered Sakumo quietly.

She smiled. "I think … you know."

He scowled. Yes, right. That mission. He nodded a bit tightly. "Sure."

"Where's Sanae?"

"Mission. I think, it's a B-Rank." He looked a bit nostalgic. His sister had turned 15 a few weeks ago. She'd been out on a mission, so they hadn't been able to celebrate properly. "I'll probably get a cake when she comes back." He thought out loud.

"Oh, right. She's barely in town, anymore, is she?"

Sakumo shrugged, but it looked a bit stiff. He did miss his sister's presence. "They want to make as many missions as they can. If they clear enough B-Ranks she thinks, Saburo and she might make Jonin this year."

"You were fifteen, too" remembered Akane.

Sakumo nodded. "Yeah. But being Chunin was easier. Being Jonin is just so much hard work and responsibility." He thought of Kazuki, but he didn't show it.

She smiled. "I think Nara-san is rubbing off on you. And not in the good way. I thought you wanted to catch some brain cells from him, not his chronic laziness."

Sakumo chuckled. "Do you think she'll like Banana-Chocolate?"

Akane looked at him for a moment, blinking, then she smiled. "Oh, for the cake." She laughed. Before Sakumo could repeat his question, she spoke again. "I always loved how you cared for her, you know?" she admitted. Sakumo looked a bit surprised, then he turned red from embarrassment. "When we were young I was so envious."

He stared at her quizzically. "Envious? For what?"

"You know" She made a general gesture. He could only shake his head. He had no idea what she was talking about. "Growing up all alone, without a family. I would have liked to have a brother like you. So, when I found out you had a little sister and when I saw how you cared for her. I think it just … I thought it was really cute." He was a bit stunned. Also, a bit amused as she went beet red. "Anyway, I just always wished I could have a family like that. Even if your parents were dead you were always there for each other."

Now, Sakumo slowly understood. Of course, he hadn't grown up as an orphan. He had been 13 and a Chunin already when his mother died. 14 at his father's death. For a shinobi that counted as almost adult even if physically not fully grown. But his sister had only been eight years old at her father's death. After that – even to a degree before that – he had basically raised her himself. It had helped that she had made Genin at 11 of course. After that, he thought, she had mostly taken care of herself. And she had had her Sensei and team.

"Well, you are as good as part of this family." Sakumo shrugged a bit embarrassed. She looked up at him, so he felt he needed to clarify. "I mean, Sanae really likes you."

"Well, thanks" said Akane smiling. But she seemed a bit disappointed.

Sakumo looked at her for a moment, then he added with another half-hearted shrug. "We could marry, I guess. But I don't know if it's the right time to start a family."

There was a stunned silence from her side of the table making Sakumo wonder, whether he'd done something wrong.

"You jerk!" said Akane suddenly throwing one of her chopsticks at him. He dived out of the way grunting when he crashed to the floor.

"Be careful with those!" he heard his own voice screech indignantly. "You're a shinobi. Do you want to kill me with wooden chopsticks, or what?" He jumped back to his feet.

"You'd deserve it" retorted Akane angrily, but she didn't really look that angry. "That was just about the worst proposal I've ever heard of."

Sakumo rubbed his backside where he'd fallen. "Oh?" He looked a bit surprised. Then he smiled a little. "I didn't take you for the romantic type. How should I have known?"

She went silent suddenly. Then she threw the other chopstick at him that he again managed to dodge, barely. "It doesn't matter, whether I'm the romantic type! 'I guess, we could marry', my ass! You didn't even really ask me. At least try to sound as if this is important, to you!"

"Well, do you want to?" he asked laughing. She scowled even more at that. "Do you want me to kneel? What can I do to make this right?"

She snorted. "Nothing. It's too late. The moment is over. You ruined it. You just ruined all my girlish dreams of a romantic proposal … And you're just laughing!"

"Don't lie. You had no girlish dreams about any sort of proposal."

It seemed everything he said just made it worse. "Give me your chopsticks" she demanded with an outstretched hand. "I need something to throw."

"No!" cried Sakumo panicking. "You told me you didn't want a romantic proposal. Have you forgotten?"

She suddenly quieted. "You remember that?"

"I've got a good memory." He laughed.

"You were … what 12? And I was just 14. You can't take that seriously."

"How should I have known that? You make this more complicated than it should be."

"You're so infuriating! We were talking about one of Jiraiya's almost perversely romantic outlines for a story. I said, I didn't want it like that. I didn't say I wanted to be proposed with some throw-away line! This is an important step in life and you just ridicule it." She seemed somewhere between amused, tired and angry. But he still wouldn't trust her with another pair of chopsticks.

"No, I'm not. You think, I didn't think about it?" He sighed. "Well do you want to marry, or not? I mean I could always wait a few months and then buy roses and stuff."

"No … No … Just leave it."

He looked a bit disappointed at that. "Is that a no, you don't want to marry? Because that would really hurt."

She laughed. "No. Let's marry!" Suddenly she was in a much better mood. "But don't think I won't tell Tsunade and the others about how much you suck at proposing."

"They'll kill me" cried Sakumo indignantly.

"Cripple you … maybe" smiled Akane evilly. "I don't want to be widowed just yet."

He bellowed a laugh at that. "Let's get married first. Then you can worry all you like about getting rid of me again." He suddenly thought, that Akane had all the necessary knowledge and skill to make him disappear without a trace. It made him laugh all the harder.

She frowned at him for a moment, maybe wondering about his laughter, then she laughed too. "Give me a new pair of chopsticks. I need to finish breakfast."

"Only if you don't kill me with them."

"I promise." She smiled innocently, but then she added: "For now."

Three days later, Sanae came back from her mission. She had a minor injury and stayed a day in hospital, so they brought the cake they had already bought to her hospital room – a bit to the annoyance of the nurses. Apparently, she herself had somewhat forgotten her birthday hadn't been celebrated between them, yet. Sakumo had given her her present weeks earlier when they had met for a few minutes, but they had hardly had any time back then. More than 'hallo – happy birthday – good bye' they had hardly managed. She had also evidently celebrated with her teammates. So, she was a bit surprised to see him and Akane with a cake. But she was happy anyway.

"We're going to marry" Sakumo told her between bites.

She glanced up at him. "We can't marry, we're siblings." She looked as if he'd gone mad.

"No, idiot. Have they hit you over the head? Akane and I are going to marry. You're just going to dress up like a girl for once."

"I'm not!" said Sanae with a small pout. Then she brightened up as if she only now understood his words. "You're going to marry. Ah, that's so great!" She almost threw her piece of cake to the hospital ground when she jumped to hug Akane and then Sakumo.

"When's the wedding going to be. I'll need to make sure, that I'm not on mission, then."

"Oh yeah" said Akane quietly. "That is a concern."

Sakumo frowned at her. "Don't tell me you can't take two days off work? We're just going to marry on a Wednesday, that should do it."

"So, you don't know a date, yet?" asked Sanae a bit disappointed. Sakumo shrugged. "What kind of a wedding planner are you?"

"I'm not" he reminded her. "What kind of a sister are you. You should be all happy and smiley, not start criticizing. Be supportive for once! We're just going to ask the Hokage for three days off for all of us, and then we'll marry."

"That is so not romantic" cried Sanae.

Akane smiled at that. "You have no idea, kid. He's the worst at romance."

"You two don't like romance." Why did he have to remind them all the time? They were just trying to mock him.

"You're the worst, Anija" reprimanded Sanae. "But I love you. Congratulations you two."


	17. The Academy School Committee

**The Academy School Committee**

A week after his proposal Shikaruma came out of his office again and waved Sakumo to follow him.

"Hokage-sama told me you two have been talking a few days back" said the Nara. Sakumo needed a moment to remember his conversation with the Hokage about the Academy.

"Ah, that's almost two weeks back."

"Sure, sure" mumbled Shikaruma. "I know, I know. He's been a bit of a nuisance ever since. You just doubled my workload."

Sakumo frowned. "I don't understand."

"Ah, the Hokage had me looking over the curriculum. It's a bit tiresome, so I thought, I make you do it." Before Sakumo could express his doubts about that decision, Shikaruma waved it away. "Don't worry, kid. The Hokage and I have decided on a five-men-committee for now. You just go there watch the teachers and the students, let them show you what they teach and then go back and tell us what you think about it all." Shikaruma shrugged. "Really, it shouldn't be too hard. I could probably ask my son about it, but he'd just give me some smart-ass answers I can't work with."

Sakumo scratched his head a bit doubtful. Then he halted in his movement when Shikaruma held out a mission scroll at him.

"It's a B-Rank" he informed the Hatake "so don't even think about not doing it. Denying missions like that – it just makes you look lazy."

Sakumo guessed the Nara knew all about seeming lazy so he just took the scroll and looked at the specifics.

"I'm not mission leader. Why do you give the scroll to me?" He wondered out loud.

"Ahaha" the Nara scratched his head. "You know, I could just give it to Cho or have her brought here, but that would be entirely too tiresome. You're here, so you assemble that team and give the scroll to Cho. Not like this is classified or anything. Just don't tell the teachers what you're up to too soon or they'll just work extra hard."

Sakumo nodded a bit annoyed at his superior's antics and took off towards the Akimichi household, hoping the head of the clan would be at their compound and not somewhere in town where Sakumo would need hours finding her. Fortunately, he had luck and found Cho Akimichi right away.

She took the scroll, threw one glance at it, and muttered something about annoying Nara's giving her annoying missions.

"Really, that goofball, thinks I'm too old for good old action" muttered the overweight lady. "We fought in the war together, but now he thinks I'm some delicate flower to protect or something. I could still flatten him and Inori in a second." Sakumo didn't doubt it. "You don't believe me, kiddo?"

"Oh, I do" he hurried to say but apparently that had been a mistake.

"What, you think I'd flatten everyone, is that it? Because I'm fat?"

"Eh?" He tried to somehow amend the situation. "No, I just thought … I believe you. Nothing about your weight." Damn those sensitive Akimichi, he thought.

"Well, you'd be right" she suddenly laughed her heavy body wobbling in laughter and her eyes tearing up. Sakumo was quite sure that most of her body was muscle, but there was quite a decent bit of fat there. He knew it had something to do with the Akimichi Hidden technique. Well, and apparently the Akimichi also loved good food, he had no doubt. "Now, now, let's look for that Hyuuga-brat, here. And the others."

They left the Akimichi-compound towards the Hyuuga-compound. "I think of those people, you're the only one I haven't worked with before" she said on the way. "I can see, why they chose the others for this mission. The Hyuuga is probably there to oversee political and history education and that sort of thing. Stuck up bunch that clan. But if there's anybody in this village that can teach you about the history of the shinobi-world, it's them. Don't believe any Uchiha trying to tell you otherwise." Sakumo nodded. "They might have helped build this village, but that aside they just know their side of history. Not, that the Hyuuga are any better – but they've been around longer." She looked at the scroll again then tapped her chin. "That Yuuhi-girl. Well, I bet 80% of the reasons Shika chose her was so she could get on my nerves. Annoying little thing, really. And way too delicate for a shinobi. But she's got skills with chakra control and Genjutsu. Also, medical ninjutsu, though I don't think they teach that at the Academy. Not more than the basics, anyway. So, I'll have her look at that. That will also get her out of my hair for the duration of this mission." It seemed that last part was a thing she just thought about now, as her overall demeanour brightened considerably. "And that old man" she tapped at the scroll "Gin. He's an allrounder, but mostly focused on weapons. I can have him look at the Ninjutsu and weapons classes."

She looked at the young Hatake and gave him a once over. "So, what qualifies you for this mission. You any good with sealing?" Sakumo shook his head quietly. "Nah, didn't think so. They should have given me an Uzumaki. Though, sealing is not really a big class in the Academy anyway. I'd be surprised if they learn more than the paper bomb seal." She frowned at that. "Really, I tell you, my son, Choza, I'd be surprised if he learns more than Kunai-throwing at the Academy. Least, if I watch him, that's all he ever trains. Sometimes, I wonder if they even learn the alphabet."

Sakumo tried not to get distracted. Instead he thought about what he could do during their mission. "I'm good with the sword" he said after a bit of thought. "Ninjutsu … and Taijutsu, I guess."

"But we have a weapons specialist" said the Akimichi poking at Gin's name. "And Taijutsu, that's my area. Or I'd become redundant. Don't want that to happen. I guess, you could have a look at Ninjutsu classes."

"I work with Shikaruma-san in strategy" tried Sakumo.

"Ah, yeah. I've heard. He told me about you. Said you'll never be any good at shogi. Well, I guess you could look at strategic and tactical education, too. That lazy bum, bet he just didn't want to go himself." She made a face. "His own son is in that Academy, but he can't get his ass up to take a good long look at it." She shrugged. "Well, I guess it doesn't matter that much, if you're from a Clan, anyway. Clan kids will learn what they need from their family."

Sakumo nodded in agreement thinking about his own and Sanae's school time. Due to his missions he didn't have as much time to train Sanae, as he would have liked, but it still was enough to give her a considerable boost during her early days as a shinobi. Most civilian kids would never catch up to the Clan kids. Especially not with the Academy in disarray.

"Here we are" said the Akimichi finally and stated their business to the guards in front of the Hyuuga-compound. "You know, Sakumo-san, if I hadn't known that Shikaruma wants to keep you in Strategic Command I'd have thought they wanted to make you the new Academy teacher" she admitted while they were waiting for their third man to join them.

Sakumo frowned at that. He actually liked children, but he didn't think he was suited as a teacher.

"Ah, Hotaru!" The Akimichi waved at the middle-aged man appearing at the gate. "Hotaru Hyuuga, this is Sakumo Hatake. We have a mission to review the Academy curriculum and teaching standards."

"About time" muttered the Hyuuga with a quick glance at Sakumo. They greeted, then they left for the rest of the team. "My son's complaining about lacking standards for years. He's going to write his exams early this year. No reason keeping him there."

They found Gin, a Jonin in his late forties in his flat in central Konoha. The Yuuhi was not at her family home. Cho didn't seem surprised and instead walked straight for the Yamanaka flower shop, where, in fact, they found the last member of their company in discussion with Inori's wife.

Sakumo soon realized that the entire team was in their thirties or forties and he gathered from their conversation that they all had family in the academy. The sons of both Hotaru and Cho, the daughter of Gin and the nephew of the Yuuhi-kunoichi were all pupils in the academy. He was the odd one out and he was not the only one who realized that.

"So, any idea how we do this without being noticed immediately?" asked the Hyuuga.

"We could turn into our kids" said Cho. "Should be fun. I haven't been a kid in years. And I think I can play Choza good enough. Eating and crying, that should be about right."

There was a haughty frown from the Hyuuga, but then he relented. "You don't have the highest opinion of your son, have you?"

"Oh, I love him. But I'm a realist. He's to whiny to be a shinobi quite yet. But he'll grow out of it." She smiled happily.

"I can turn into my son" shrugged the Hyuuga. "He's a quiet kid, so it's not like I'll attract much attention if I just sit in the corner and frown."

"Great" muttered the Yuuhi. "My nephew is an annoying know-it-all."

"So just like you" muttered Cho under her breath but she smiled innocently at Yuuhi's deepening frown.

"So, it's decided then" said Gin. "I don't particularly like this, but I guess, it can't be helped. It's not like our kids will miss much if they skip one school day. And, since our kids are all sitting in different classes, we'll get different teachers and subjects. That could work out. What about the kid though." A quick glance in Sakumo's direction made it obvious who he was talking about.

Sakumo henged into a middle-aged man with a bit overweight and a very generic face. "I go as a civilian parent who thinks about putting their kid into the Academy. I can have the teachers show me their curriculum and everything." It would be uncommon for a Clan-member to ask the Academy for credentials as – if you wanted to become a shinobi the Academy was mandatory. But for a civilian who wasn't yet sure whether the career of a ninja was the right thing for his kid … He assumed, it was still uncommon, but it would be understandable.

"Perfect" acknowledged Cho.

They chose the next day for their plan and Sakumo tried to get an appointment with the school board. It was surprisingly easy. As it turned out, things like this weren't as uncommon as he had thought. Apparently, the school had a few teachers on permanent demand for uncertain parents to ask their questions. That was a good sign, he assumed. It also hinted to the school being catered to civilian kids if they tried so hard for the civilian parents' support. Now, that he thought about it, the Academy was frowned upon by the Clans but well-liked by the general public.

He met with the Academy director the next morning, knowing somewhere in the school crowd would be four kids who were not in fact kids. Some time before lunch he actually looked out of the window and saw a Hyuuga-boy throwing his Kunai maybe a bit too deftly and he was sure that this was in fact Hotaru not the actual child. Other than that, he didn't see the other four all day.

The director was nice enough. He answered Sakumo's less specific questions with a smile. Then, when Sakumo's questions were more in depth he frowned a bit and took out a big file with the school curriculum.

"You've read up on the shinobi arts, haven't you, Mr. Yoki?" asked the director a bit exasperated.

"Of course," smiled Sakumo innocently, "I wanted to know what I'll get my daughter into. And I think I can help her better, if I know at least a little bit of what she's going to learn."

The director smiled and nodded. "That is very considerate. Most parents just leave the education to us, though" added the man with a silent hint that Sakumo took as annoyance at an overbearing parent. Sakumo scowled a bit.

"I heard the Clan-kids learn a lot outside of school" thought Sakumo aloud.

"They do, but – I'm sorry I have to be frank – they are professionals. Your enthusiasm for your daughter's education is appreciated. But there's a danger you won't teach her the right ways of going about things. You are aware that there are specific ninja rules and very complicated techniques?" At Sakumo's indignant frown he added with a smile. "Ah, you know, we'll just show you what we'll teach your daughter. If you think you can help her with some of it, that's fine. But for her own safety in her later life as a shinobi, we'd like you to not interfere with her fighting education."

"Ah" Sakumo's face brightened a little though he tried to edge a hint of worry in it. "Of course, of course. I don't plan to teach her how to throw … what are these?" He pointed at some kids in the yard throwing shuriken. "But I think I can help her with mathematics and writing and history. And even with the ninja arts I at least want to know what she's going to learn."

"That is of course completely fine" said the director. "If you want I can leave this file with you. It has our curriculum for the first years of education. Later on, it depends a bit on personal skill what she'll focus on in her education." He pushed the file in front of Sakumo, who immediately opened to the first page and then flicked to the second with a thoughtful frown. "Of course, there might be some words you don't know. Shinobi techniques have a language of their own." He waved Sakumo's potential questions away. "I recommend you read through this, Mr. Yoki. Then, I'll send one of my teachers to answer all the questions you might have and show you some things. Alright?"

'Mr. Yoki' nodded silently flicking through the file.

The curriculum, he decided, looked decent. He'd rather put some elemental manipulation into the chakra control classes, but he assumed from what it sounded like in the file, that learning nature transformation was an option in the later years of the Academy. Other than that, he would have liked to add some details to weapon's classes and Genjutsu classes seemed lacking at best. There was an entire class dedicated for the shinobi rules. Compared to that politics and history were rather disappointingly left out. Overall school seemed to focus on the fighting arts over general knowledge and life skill. There was hardly anything in terms of strategy, he realized.

Those criticisms aside, it seemed they were at least trying to teach good ninjutsu, taijutsu and fighting competences. So much for the curriculum. Time to look at the teachers.

He was greeted by a short chunin a few years older than himself. The man led him around the Academy showing Sakumo classrooms he still remembered from his own time at the Academy and training yards that had changed only a little bit. There was a playground with a swing and some other means for the kids to enjoy themselves, and some of the civilian kids were playing there. Over all, the Academy had hardly changed at all.

"This is where the kids practice with their weapons" said the Chunin and put his hand against a log of wood that had several tiny holes in it and a round target drawn on it – roughly at the height of a grown men's chest.

Sakumo saw a few Kunai and Shuriken poking out of the wood and lying scattered on the ground. He picked a few up with – as he hoped – clumsy hands and inspected them.

Sakumo looked at one of the wooden targets. "The Curriculum said that it's expected that he kids can hit the target at least 8 out of 10 times before they graduate" he said looking at the teacher. He remembered in his own time it had been 10/10 or you could wait for the next year to graduate. They had lowered the standards a bit. Then again, he knew, not every great shinobi was a master kunai thrower. Still those were basic skills and it had been one of the many things that had surprised him a bit when he read it in the file.

"Yeah, well," the chunin laughed a bit nervously and took the Kunai out of his hands obviously concerned to see a civilian handle blunted but still dangerous weapons. "It depends. We have some kids here who can hit the target with everything they throw. Other's don't share that talent. But they have other talents. So sometimes, we make exceptions. But yes, that is the normal requirement."

"Exceptions?" Sakumo raised an eyebrow. The Academy had gone lax, he realized. If there were 'exceptions' to the required skill to graduate in this class, he could already guess that there were those exceptions in other classes, too. Letting kids graduate who missed the target 2 out of 10 times – that was dangerous enough. Genin who couldn't hit the target at all were a liability at best – even if they had other talents. He'd rather the kids only graduate with age 14 than put a 12-year-old with no skills on the battlefield.

"There are massive discrepancies in skill level between our students" admitted the Chunin.

"What does this have to do with anything?" frowned Sakumo.

"Some just don't have the necessary skill with weapons. But they are for example promising medics or ninjutsu-users. There are different ways of fighting for a shinobi, you see?" He smiled and put some of the shuriken he had taken from Sakumo's hands into his weapons pouch. "We're evaluating each student's level of skill individually. If we think they make good Genin, one or two missed kunai aren't going to ruin a child's career. Of course, there are some lines we cannot cross. Most students are expected to pass at age 12 and we work towards that goal with the kids not against them."

Or in other words, if a kid was 12 he had to be really bad in order to 'not pass'. Sakumo didn't like that. He made a mental note to mention that part to Cho later when they compared their findings.

"You say they have different skill level. How is that? Are talented kids taught separate from the less skilled?"

There was a sorry smile on the man's face as if he pitied Sakumo. Did he think 'Mr. Yoki' expected his daughter to be among the talented ones, when her father had obviously no clue about the ninja arts? Sakumo suddenly realized that in the eyes of the chunin-teacher, Sakumo's imaginary daughter would probably be one of those kids for whom to let them pass, exceptions had to be made.

"No" answered the man quietly. "For exceptionally skilled kids there is always the chance to skip classes and graduate earlier. But overall classes hold pupils of mixed talent. It's our belief that the weaker students can only profit from watching better pupils in their class. And even the good ones mostly find one or two kids in their class who are better in something."

Sakumo nodded at that. "Can you show me how to throw these?" He pointed at the weapons still in the teacher's hands. "I'd like to know a bit more about the necessary technique."

There was a tired smile from the teacher. "Of course, Mr. Yoki. Please, step aside."

Sakumo took two steps back. He watched the chunin as he lifted his hand with the first kunai and threw it at one of the targets. Sakumo's scrutinizing eyes took in every moving muscle until the kunai stuck deep in the bull's eye. The chunin threw a second Kunai and a Shuriken at two other targets. Both of them hit, but Sakumo realized that the second Kunai did almost fall back out of the log – never mind that it had only grazed bull's eye. The shuriken even missed the centre of the target by about an inch. Sakumo assumed 'hitting the target' did not mean 'hitting bull's eye'. On top of that, he had seen the teacher's technique was mediocre at best – almost sloppy.

"Impressive," he lied applauding. "Do you teach weapon's training?"

"Not really" the teacher admitted with a blush. "For the lower classes it's one teacher for all. But in the advanced classes I teach chakra control and ninjutsu."

Sakumo nodded. So at least this mediocracy knew that this subject wasn't his strong point. Sakumo had a bit of a suspicion, so when they walked back from the target-practice-field, he tried to involve the man in what he hoped was innocent small-talk.

"So, have you been to the Academy, too?" asked Sakumo talkative.

"I have" answered the man.

He was older than Sakumo, who himself had been in the first year ever to visit the academy. So, if this man had gone to the Academy he must have started late. Most of his year – the first academy year – had been about his age. Maybe one or two years older than him – at best. But he had known that – especially in the years below him, there had always been some older civilian children trying to become shinobi even though they were already a bit too old to start. He never had met anybody who had actually been among those late-starters, though. Not after he graduated.

"Yours must have been one of the first graduation years" said Sakumo excitedly. "I remember when I was young, the Academy didn't exist yet. Or maybe I would have become a shinobi, too."

"It was" admitted the chunin. "Mine was the third year. I mean aside from those early graduates that exist every year, I was among the third group to actually make it Genin through the Academy." So, he had been three years below Sakumo. If he hadn't skipped classes, by his estimated age he must have been about 17 when he graduated. Which was admirable that he stuck to it, but also awfully late.

"Honestly, I was a bit of a late-starter" admitted the chunin. "I was already 16, when I graduated. I was 8 when they first built the Academy and I had to basically force my parents to send me there, which took another few years. I was already 10 when I started."

"That's admirable" said Sakumo honestly but also a bit worried. "When did you start teaching here? This must be so different suddenly standing on the other side of the classroom."

"It is," the chunin laughed. "But I love it. I wanted to teach since I graduated. I really like kids and I get along well with them. The Hokage gave me this position right after my Chunin Exams. I think, back then I would have liked to do something different first, but I love it here. Some of the kids are frighteningly skilled. One day, they'll be the elite in this village. So, by teaching them I do something good for Konoha."

Sakumo decided, he liked the man. He might have been a little bit annoyed at the supposed parent's questioning, at first, but he loved teaching and Sakumo realized, he held similar values to his late Sensei Kagami. He saw it as a service to Konoha's future rather than the annoying pain Sakumo had heard some other shinobi describe the tedious task of teaching a pre-genin or even a genin-team. However, he also realized that this man had entirely to little experience to actually teach the kids about fighting and war. If he had been made a teacher right after his Chunin-Exams it meant he had probably never seen war or battle. Never had any position of leadership and command.

They went to another class room. The pictures and drawings on the walls proved this was probably the chunin's own classroom. There was a certain focus on chakra control, the chakra network and even some papers depicting nature or yin and yang transformation.

Sakumo asked some questions about the pictures and got the impression that while the chunin was a lot more knowledgeable in this topic than he had been with weapons, he was still a bit lacking. Sakumo assumed it was enough for most pupils. But he was also sure, that there were probably quite a few of the more talented students, that would see the faults in the teacher's explanations. Any Hyuuga, who had activated his Byakugan, could probably see the many tiny mistakes the chunin made. Still, most of this made no difference for the majority of students. Maybe, he thought, it was even done on purpose to make the difficult matter easier for less knowledgeable students. One of the chunin's explanations sounded suspiciously like just a convenient simplification. Sakumo frowned at that, but he couldn't deny that especially for younger students with no prior knowledge, this would probably be suitable to introduce them to the matter.

After another 30 minutes or so, the chunin said he had classes to prepare. Sakumo asked if he could watch an hour of class. The teacher seemed a bit thrown off at the question but agreed.

Sakumo watched for two hours. The first class was a group of young pupils who he assumed had just started their studies of the ninja arts. They were still new to everything the teacher told them and giggling at every technique that was a bit more entertaining than a simple punch. The chunin was really good with kids, Sakumo thought, though his head was throbbing at the boringly easy subject matter.

After class the teacher told him, that this was normally not his class, but a colleague of his was on sick leave. … Sick leave … Sakumo had never heard about any shinobi taking sick leave unless he was dead or dying. Battle wounds that needed to heal were one thing, but it sounded as if this particular teacher was sick with a summer fever. For most shinobi, their chakra would just flush out any minor infection. It was really something curious.

The second hour he spent with a class of pre-graduates that were loud and annoying and already talking about who of them would take the Graduation Exam this year. There was a young Uchiha obviously bored out of his mind by the subject matter, and somebody he thought he recognized as Kenoah Gekkou's half-brother drawing faces on a sheet of paper rather than listening.

After that hour he excused himself and left the chunin to his next class, a bunch of noisy nine-year olds with a surprising number of female pupils. Still in his Henge-form he left the Academy and watched some of the kids in the yard with weapons practice and Taijutsu without learning much he hadn't gathered already.

After his day here, he had the striking suspicion that there were exactly two conditions a Chunin had to fulfil to become an Academy teacher: First, they needed to be good with kids. Second, they weren't needed anywhere else and didn't show the potential to ever make Jonin.

Most of Sakumo's friends were Jonin by now, even those who weren't were on their best way to make the rank. Most of the Chunin he had worked with, had aspired to become Jonin at least at one point. Of course, he remembered people like Inuzuka Hige, who's ninken had died, and who had never even tried making Jonin after that. But those were exceptions born from extraordinary situations. He had never really considered Chunin to be a rank some shinobi would never work past. To him making Chunin had just been the second milestone in his career, a partial victory on his way to become Jonin. If there were a way to go from Genin straight to Jonin … he'd never even thought about making Chunin to begin with. But of course, there were those shinobi who never aspired to be more, who saw that as a victory by itself … or who never had the skill to move any higher in rank. There were probably people never making it past Genin, too, he thought thinking about the kids meeting for the Chunin-Exams every year. Some of them would start their 14th attempt this year, which meant they'd participated in every exam since it's foundry. He assumed there probably were some Genin who'd just given up after five years of failing.

He had been arrogant, really, he thought while he watched two eight-year-olds perform a sloppy Kata. He'd just thought about the bright geniuses and natural talents and how they'd be slowed in their progress by teachers who were hardly better than them. He was an elite Jonin, even if he hadn't really been in the field in a while, he was still one of the strongest shinobi in this village, he knew. He'd become a Genin at 10 – and only because he hadn't even tried to graduate earlier – a Chunin at 11, a Jonin at 15, had his first own command as a Jonin at 16, and his first own team at 17. Out of the over 1000 students the Academy had today, there were maybe 20 – at best – whose careers held so much promise. And of those 20, half would maybe still fail – dying on the battlefield way too young, getting hurt, or even only making a life choice that would throw them off course. There were just a handful in every generation that would achieve what he had achieved. In his generation, those were Hiruzen's students, himself and maybe Akane.

The Academy was not just about some five to ten students who had the potential to become the next Hokage. Most of these kids would never become Jonin, some would maybe never even become Genin. Explaining the chakra network simplified and looking at individual skill instead of raising all out geniuses, it suddenly made a lot more sense. He still didn't know whether he liked it, though. Making things too easy on this stage of their education, it could end in the kids' deaths upon their graduation. And on top of that, there was still the thing with geniuses being bored by Academy lessons.

He met up with Cho and the others that evening and they were comparing findings. Overall, the mood was somewhat dulled. The Hyuuga was disappointed and almost furious at the declining Academy level and Sakumo had to tell him, that it hadn't been that bad, when he had gone to the Academy a few years back, or Sakumo was sure, he as an Academy graduate would have lost all credit with the Hyuuga. The other three were mostly concurring with Sakumo that, while the teachers were good with kids and knew how to teach, they often didn't have enough skill in the subject they taught themselves. There was quite the enthusiastic discussion, whether they should try and divide the classes by skill, whether civilian kids should receive extra training, or whether exceptional students should be put into more advanced courses.

They soon decided, that advanced training sessions for the teachers so that they knew some basic combat experience was the first step. While they didn't want to get rid of the teachers, who were so good with kids, they also thought about putting more teachers into the Academy. An actual weapon's and Jutsu specialist for training, rather than mediocre teachers for everything.

Sakumo thought about Izumi who had started at the Academy a few years earlier. He hadn't seen her that day and upon further investigation they had found out, she had left her post at the Academy. Turned out, it was basically impossible to ever make Jonin if one spent the majority of his Chunin years in the Academy. They found out, that the really good teachers who still had aspirations for making Jonin one day, would never stay long at the Academy, as they were either needed elsewhere or decided to leave the Academy out of their free will to prevent their careers from stagnating.

So next week, Sakumo found himself talking to Izumi and some others who had expressed wishes to teach before but never actually got to work at the Academy for whatever reasons. They expressed a certain common opinion, that in Konoha, especially among the Chunin their age – who were exactly the people who'd be asked to teach in the Academy – teaching was seen as work for 'civilians'. No real shinobi aspired to become a teacher, as it was boring and … above all: save. Worse, it was considered a career killer and even those who were genuinely interested didn't want to get mocked by their peers for 'not being true shinobi'.

They thought about rotating teachers so that the Chunin could still make their normal shinobi-work in between teaching. But they soon threw the idea out of the window as they decided the children needed permanent teachers to whom they could relate.

The first step was easy: To talk to the Hokage to not just send unaspiring Chunin as teacher to the Academy and give the teachers there the chances to further their careers while working there. It helped giving people like Izumi an incentive to go back to teaching.

Izumi was a true godsent. As an Uzumaki not only was she competent with medical ninjutsu, sealing and chakra control, but she was also a member of a renown Clan. The Academy had a bit of a bad name with the Clans and the more Clan-members were working there the better it got.

They made some changes to the Curriculum too, and Cho Akimichi got a new teacher for Taijutsu. She knew just the right person, she had said.

And like that, slowly, the Academy went back to a place of teaching that made Konoha proud rather than ashamed.


	18. A Wedding covered in Snow

**A Wedding covered in Snow**

Their mission to the Academy didn't remain secret for long. A month later only a day after Izumi had started to work at the Academy again, he found an irate Academy-teacher at his door.

"You think that was funny?" hissed the man at him completely oblivious to their difference in rank. "Playing the caring father, while I play the fool?"

Sakumo tried to ignore the Chunin which was not easy when he followed him to his morning coffee.

"You know, it's right what they say! You high uppity Jonin from your mighty Clan's" snarled the man, "you just laugh about us hard working people."

Sakumo paused on his way to the café. He had no interest to make this argument public, so he stopped somewhere with no people around.

"Do you have any idea how hard I had to work to make it to where I am?" The man was obviously irate, so Sakumo just let him blow off steam. "And then a group of high level Jonin come along and laugh at us and try to ruin what we built. I bet you were enjoying yourself."

"It was a mission" answered Sakumo a bit irritated. "I'm sorry, if you don't like it, but that was my job."

"You could have just told us what you were doing. Instead you infiltrate like we're the enemy."

"We wanted to see the classes as they actually are. Do you think we're stupid? Had we told you why we were there, you'd have been extra careful to make everything right."

The man snorted. "And what's wrong about that? It's called solidarity among fellow Konoha-shinobi. Ever heard of that? You know, just because we're teachers, we're still Konoha-shinobi. I bet, you wouldn't have just infiltrated the ANBU or what do I know?" He threw his hands up in anger. "Do you know the kind of work we have to deal with now? Because of you guys? New colleagues, new curriculum, new courses, advanced training for us. FOR US! I'm a Chunin for five years and now they make me relearn stuff I know since I were in the Academy myself."

"Then it shouldn't be too hard" hissed Sakumo. He had to admit, that when the man said he lacked 'solidarity' it stung a bit, but he didn't show it. Who did the man think he was? He was still a shinobi, wasn't he? He had to know, that a mission was a mission. Instead of understanding that it hadn't been Sakumo's choice, he was screaming his grievances in Sakumo's ear as if it was all his fault.

"Not too hard?" The man looked a bit flustered. "Yeah, right. Because I don't have my normal work to do on top of that. But for you guys teaching was never true shinobi-work to begin with."

"That's not it" retorted Sakumo.

"Then what is it? You have no idea how hard we work, to make all or at least most of these kids pass the graduation. At 12! Do you know how difficult that is? Sure, you Clan-people you can do it, because you have your parents or siblings to teach you. But us, from the civilian families?" He snorted again. "There's nobody who can help civilian kids but still. We get them to pass …"

"And that's exactly the problem!" Sakumo's voice was angry because he was really starting to get annoyed, and maybe, it had been a poor choice of words.

The man looked at him suspiciously, then he crossed his arms. "Yeah, right. I knew, the Clan's didn't care. I guess I always knew. But you don't even want civilians to learn the ninja arts, do you?"

"What?" Sakumo blinked before supressing a groan. Of course, the man would misunderstand. "That's got nothing to do with it. My own fiancée is from a civilian family and one of the finest shinobi I know. That's not it."

He looked a bit surprised then confused. "What then?"

"That you let people pass when they are not ready. I'd rather have those kids in the Academy for a year or two longer and only have them graduate at age 13 or 14. The requirements for graduation are already lowered from what they were when the Nidaime was still around. And you lower them further contrary to what the Curriculum demands, to make kids pass who have no business of being shinobi, yet."

"Yeah," he said. "Because the requirements are too high for most civilian kids without extra training. Do you have any idea, what it does to a kid who can't graduate at age 12 or 13 at worst? They are bullied and ostracised for being slow or stupid or underachieving or lazy. And even if they make it … Believe me, I know how it is. I was sixteen, when I graduated. You think there was much of a career waiting for me? I was the laughing stock at my Chunin-Exams, never mind that I managed to pass. But people like me, who graduate late, that's it for them. You ever heard of Dai? Might Dai? Same age as me, graduated one year earlier with 15. He's still a Genin and hardly anybody even wants to work with him." Sakumo didn't know that Dai-guy, but he thought he might have heard about him. He was sure that Yashiro in one of their sparring matches that they had more often now had mentioned that name. "He's one of the greatest Shinobi, I know, but if you graduate late, nobody cares about that. If I let somebody fail at age 13, I'm ruining their lives. You have no idea, how that is, do you?" The man laughed snidely. "No, of course not. Sakumo Hatake. The White Fang … I bet you were one of the first to ever graduate, huh? How old have you been? 8, 9? Congratulations. But you have no right to look down on people like us."

"10" said Sakumo quietly. The man seemed a bit surprised, but then he nodded. Sakumo assumed that 9 or 10 didn't make much of a difference. "I'm sorry, that you had it difficult" Sakumo sighed. "I understand, what you're trying to say." He raised a hand, before the other could retort angrily. "If kids are kept at the Academy too long, they won't have much of a career nevermind the respect of the village but if they graduate too early," he paused a bit dramatically, "they die." That effectively shut the other man up. "I have all the respect for you, that you managed to make Genin with 16 despite starting late. And I understand the need to prevent your students from suffering the same ridicule you've suffered. But if you let kids graduate who are not ready yet, they'll die. Not all of them of course. But there's war brewing. The people that graduate now, might be sent into war soon. Even without war, every year ill-prepared kids die on missions they should be able to handle if they were adequately trained." He stared the man directly in the eye. "You told me, some kids are just not good at kunai throwing, but they have other abilities. And that's true. But if you're – say – a Ninjutsu-specialist and you're out on the field and out of chakra, throwing a kunai might be the only option you have left. And if they can't hit the target in a save practice environment, they'll never hit the target exhausted, out of chakra and against a moving enemy. They'll die, because their teacher let them graduate, without the proper skill to survive on a mission."

He stared at the man who had grown deadly pale all of a sudden.

"Even if they have all the proper skills, they might still die. But we can lower the risk considerably. We still try to make most of them graduate at age 12. But if they don't have the skill, I'd rather have them sent back to the academy and suffer the ridicule of the village than send them to the battlefield ill-prepared. But that's exactly why we went to the Academy back then and reviewed your work there. It's not to stab you in the back or hinder you in your work. We're on the same side, here. The Hokage just wanted to make sure, the Academy does its job properly." He sighed. "I'm sorry if it leaves you with extra work and new colleagues to get used to. But it's no criticism against your work. Even if it were – I think the future of your students should be worth swallowing your pride and accept our criticism. Not just because we're Jonin…" He turned back to the main street. "That group of people that visited the Academy with me, were some of the finest shinobi in the village. Specialists in all the main subjects of the Academy. There are Jonin out there, me included, that would be happy to learn from them. I think you should, too, even if you don't like that most of us were born in Clans or rank above you."

He didn't exactly wait for another response, so he was almost a bit surprised, when he heard a mumbled "My apologies, Hatake-san."

The next day, he was with the Hokage, when he finally got his three days of vacation for himself, Sanae and most importantly Akane. Getting three consecutive leave days for Akane had been difficult as ANBU was currently almost drowning in missions.

They'd marry in early winter. It would be cold, but they didn't care. What they did care about was the fact, that their marriage day was only five weeks away. So, they had only little time to prepare. It would be a bit of a hurried wedding, especially since they had to fit wedding preparations in between missions. Most of it, Sakumo ended up doing by himself only consoling with Akane, as she was sent on missions almost nonstop.

So, he chose the location, the catering, and the food. He also invited the guests after speaking about them with Akane. Sanae had the idea, that they could marry in the traditional Hatake-kimonos and Akane who had never been part of any family or clan was happy to accept. That left them with the problem of having to give the kimonos to the tailors for refitting. They were a bit old, and Sakumo with his sensitive nose, thought they smelled old too. Akane thought them beautiful.

"Will there be Sake" asked Shikaruma when Sakumo invited him.

"Of course," replied Sakumo, "but you're not going to get drunk on my wedding, are you? I've never seen you drunk."

"Don't worry, I'm a quiet drunk" laughed the Nara. "If there's sake I'll come. Can't stand my wife's excited shouting if I'm sober. She gets all giddy on weddings. Should've seen her at Inori's wedding," he grumbled. "But if you're worrying about loud drunks, keep the sake away from Cho."

Jiraiya and his team would come too. After inviting him, Jiraiya asked him how he'd think Tsunade would look in a traditional dress. Sakumo thought he might want to write his best friend on the 'no Sake' list as well. Then again, Jiraiya would hate him for it, so he just had to hope his best friend wouldn't start a scene at his wedding.

Between Jiraiya's and Tsunade's excitement for the upcoming celebration Orochimaru was silently smiling and promising he'd come, too. But the look on his face made Sakumo believe, Orochimaru would never understand binding himself permanently to another human being. Sakumo didn't particularly mind Orochimaru's silent curiosity. He was getting along good enough with the snakelike man, and on some days, he was fighting him in training. But they weren't best friends. If it weren't for Jiraiya, Sakumo doubted, he'd have much of a relationship to Orochimaru. Then again, Sakumo didn't know, if Orochimaru had much of a relationship to anyone who wasn't connected to Jiraiya or Tsunade.

He hadn't exactly planned on inviting both the heads of the Akimichi and Yamanaka, as he hadn't much of a connection to any of them. The only thing connecting him to Inori Yamanaka was probably Inori's dead cousin Kazuki, whom Sakumo had so thoroughly failed as a commander. In the end, he found out, it was difficult to invite Shikaruma to anything without the other two Clan leaders finding out almost immediately.

"I'm looking forward to the wedding," Cho had yelled at him right across the main street of Konoha before he had ever actually invited her.

So, the next day he went to the Yamanaka compound and formally invited Inori too before it could turn embarrassing and the man would start thinking, Sakumo had anything against him.

He also invited Yashiro and now, that he was at the Uchiha compound already, he also invited Kagami-Sensei's wife and son. Over the years they had built a somewhat soft friendship.

He invited Takeru Hyuuga and two other Hyuugas whom he had worked with in the past. He coincidentally met Hige Inuzuka and invited him too. Then he invited two of Akane's best friends from the orphanage. He left it to her whether to invite her ANBU-colleagues. He was silently prepared for at least five unknown faces at the wedding that would be her ANBU-team.

Of course, he extended formal invitation to the Hokage, but he doubted the man would come, as well as some other shinobi Akane and he had worked with in the past.

Kenoah and Izumi would both come with their significant other. He even invited the Daimyo of Yu no Kuni whom he had loosely stayed in contact with.

Sanae would be there, of course, as well as her team. And some other Jonin and Chunin who had graduated from the Academy with the bride and groom.

Overall, when the wedding day finally arrived, and he threw a quick glance over the guests, he realized that his entire life revolved around being a shinobi. Hige was the only person in the room who was not an active shinobi, and even he had once been one, too. He had no friends that were civilian. Even the shinobi who had civilian families, had not brought them along. This was a shinobi-fest. He sighed. Some of them were even still in uniform, as if they just stopped by and would probably be gone in an instance.

Even Sanae, who of all the people dressed the most ceremonious, had a kunai or a senbon hidden somewhere in her clothes.

Tsunade showed entirely too much cleavage, as he had expected. Jiraiya obviously appreciated the sight. As did Sakumo, if he was honest, but he was trying not to make it to obvious – for the sake of his own life.

Shikaruma had appeared in his normal clothes ranking somewhere between Jonin-uniform and casual clothing. His wife was giving him a headache about not wearing his traditional kimono that would show him as Nara-Clan-head, sending him straight for the bar. While his wife was starting to chatter with Kenoah at the other end of the hall, Shikaruma was soon joined by the rest of Ino-Shika-Cho. There was a tiny copy of Shikaruma sitting in the back of the room tapping at his chair obviously bored before he fell asleep snoring a bit.

Orochimaru looked almost a bit feminine in his kimono with his hair tied up. If it weren't for his yellowish eyes, Sakumo probably wouldn't have known him.

The Hyuuga wore traditional kimonos depicting their Clan crest. They looked sublime, Sakumo thought, being suddenly aware of his own wild hair. Since he had grown it out, it was a lot easier to tame, but there always were some wild silver bangs hanging over his eyes, especially now that he had left his hitai-ate at home.

And of course, there was Akane, long blonde hair in an entirely too complicated knot, with some few locks curling artistically and golden around her face. He didn't even know she could do that kind of stuff with her hair. Her lips were coloured the same red as her eyes. Deep and fiery. There was a silver scar on her chin she had gotten in some battle or another. She wore a dress that had been passed down the Hatake-family for generations. He thought his mother might have married in it, but he wasn't sure. It was of a fine silvery-white silk. There had been some blue in it once, but when they had gotten it fitted for this occasion they had asked for the blue to be cut away and instead, for some red to be added. It fit her eyes now.

With Sakumo's kimono they hadn't changed much. It was still black and white and grey carrying the Hatake Clan-crest on his back.

The ceremony was a short thing and it felt a bit hurried. He was surprised when it was over, and he was sure, they'd only been here for ten minutes. But no matter how long it had actually lasted, by the time they kissed they were husband and wife and soft snow was falling from the sky.

It was a cold evening under a white layer of clouds. They celebrated a bit outside of town close to the walls. There were flags waving nearby red with the Konohagakure-symbol on them. With the snow slowly turning the world white and the red flags, it was perfect for them, he thought, for he was the White Fang and she was Akane, which meant 'dark red'.

They danced and ate and drank and danced some more and laughed. And Jiraiya did something stupid, Sakumo wouldn't be able to remember what it had been, which made Tsunade hit him through a wall almost ruining the celebrations. But one of Akane's Doton walls and the building would keep standing. They'd deal with their landlord later – maybe make Jiraiya and Tsunade pay for the damage, both seemed to have a bad enough conscience.

The first guests had to go, when a sudden mission for some of Akane's ANBU-colleagues came in. Later the Hyuuga had to leave for some problem at the Hyuuga-compound. Yashiro left early as did Orochimaru.

Before midnight, Shikaruma went home with his family but came back later alone to drink a bit more. Cho had drunken entirely too much. But by now, they had all drunken enough, that nobody really cared. Maybe, Sanae and her team cared. Sakumo didn't let her drink as much as the girl wanted. And her teammates stayed sober out of loyalty, or because their team leader had ordered them to, he didn't know.

"I love you" said Sakumo for about the twentieth time that day. It wouldn't be long to sunrise now.

"You said that already" snickered Akane. "I don't know how often. Do you get sentimental with too much alcohol?" She teased. "But I love you, too."

He threw a quick glance at Sanae who had slumped in a chair next to Saburo. "I think we should go home" said Sakumo to Akane.

"To be honest, I can't wait to get home." There was a teasing glint in her eyes that made him blush and cough and be glad that Jiraiya next to him was not listening.

He looked around the remaining guests. Jiraiya was too drunk and basically bullying Tsunade to go on a date with him. Shikaruma had fallen asleep with a face red from Sake – much to Cho's delight and Inori's annoyance. Kenoah was kissing his girlfriend. Izumi and her partner were apparently considering going home. There was one of Akane's ANBU-colleagues who hadn't been needed for whatever mission they had gotten, who was in conversation with Sanae's team commander.

"I think it's time to call it a day" said Sakumo and rose. "Thank you all for coming and staying so long. It's been great." He threw a careful glance at the different sleeping people.

"Don't worry" laughed Cho. "We'll take care of sleepyhead, here." She nodded at the snoring Nara-Clan-head.

"And I'll get Saburo home" said Saburo's team leader. "You two just get home and enjoy yourselves."

There was an embarrassed pause before Jiraiya interrupted that embarrassment with an all-too-hard punch against Sakumo's back making Sakumo almost topple over the table. "Have fun, you two" grinned his best friend. "Good luck, Wannabe." Sakumo frowned.

As he tried to raise Sanae, the fifteen-year-old just turned around and almost fell off her chair. He sighed. His sister was too old – and too deadly – to be carried around like a little child, but he still picked her up in his arms and carried her home.

"Has she been missing out on sleep?" asked Akane a bit worried. They were almost home and Sanae had yet to wake up. "It's weird for a shinobi to sleep so deeply."

"Maybe she just feels safe with me" thought Sakumo grinning over his sister's hair.

Akane smiled and opened the door for them. "Maybe she does. Put her into her room and come to bed."

He grinned and lost no time in following her command.

They were in his bedroom together … their bedroom now. They had bought a new bed a few days ago. She had already pulled the upper layers of her dress over her head and the first he did was opening her hair before he threw his own kimono away.

"I didn't know you could do these kinds of things with your hair" admitted the Hatake.

"I can't" she said and opening his own hair tie. "It was the stylist. She's really good."

"Mmhm," he agreed, "but I like you better like this."

Her hair was freely cascading down her shoulders. His was, too. Silver and golden. They were too deadly beings caught in single moment of silence.

He moved his fingers to open her underdress and she opened the bindings of his hakama trousers. He was grinning a canine almost wolfish grin and like that their silence was broken.

Sorry for the slow updates lately. Summer break started and I'm not at home all the time to update in time./span/p  
This is - I think - the last of the slower chapters. Next week the second shinobi world war is soon going to start.


	19. The Brink of War

**The Brink of War**

Sakumo didn't exactly want children. He was 21 at his marriage, Akane was 23. Children were not exactly part of their plans. He guessed, if it happened it happened. But, when it didn't happen ... well, that was just fine. Better even, maybe. So, when Akane didn't get pregnant in their first year of marriage, it was nothing to worry about.

Their working schedule threw them right back into their daily routine and the newly wed lovebirds found back to normal life way too soon. After a year of … very active love-making, it just quieted down and soon they were back to quick meals between missions and a bit of socializing every second or so Wednesday. Life just went on.

He didn't know, if he actually wanted a kid, now. Maybe, he thought, it would be a mistake. War was inevitable, now. They all knew it.

Kagami-Sensei had once sacrificed his life to prevent another great war from happening. Sakumo was 22 years old and now he knew what Kagami-Senseis life had bought them: Five years. Kagami had earned them five years of relative peace. It was over now.

And Sakumo didn't know if, even if he were to want a child, he'd want it in such a political environment.

The Second Shinobi World War started very similar to that conflict Sakumo had fought in five years ago. Iwa marched towards Amegakure. Only Hanzo was not their ally anymore. Instead of asking Suna and Konoha for help, Hanzo marched with Iwa against the Land of Fire.

They had had a strong alliance with Sunagakure once, before rogue Suna-shinobi had fallen upon their lands and the Kazekage had not even tried to amend the situation. So that alliance had broken down, when Sakumo had been sent to seek bloody vengeance. They had had an alliance with Kirigakure, once. An Alliance that went so far, that Kiri had sent some of their shinobi to have a look at the Academy and copy that educational system – though with some changes. But that alliance had broken down over territorial struggle over a tiny island at the eastern coast of the Land of Fire. Now, the only allies they had were Uzushiogakure, their most prominent and steadfast ally ever, and Yugakure, still ruled by the man Sakumo considered a friend.

The good news was that the other big nations disliked each other just as much as they disliked Konoha. Geographically, of course, Konoha was right in the middle of it. But for as long as Kumo, Kiri, Suna and Iwa wouldn't ally against them, they still had a chance to survive the war.

The fighting started slowly. While Ame and Iwa allied and mobilized against Konoha, the other nations seemed to wait for their opportunity to strike. It was as if Sakumo had trained just for this moment. He was immediately given command over twelve teams á four shinobi and dispatched to meet the advancing Iwa and Ame-forces. The Hokage didn't want to repeat the mistakes of the former conflicts and dispatch great numbers to the front against Iwa too soon, thus leaving Konoha open for attacks from Kiri or Kumo, so, Sakumo's twelve teams had to be enough for now.

Sakumo and Shikaruma had decided on a strategy against Ame and Iwa. It basically came down to guerrilla warfare similar to what he had done against Kumo five years before.

The Hokage had revived his old team as good as possible. Izumi was still needed in the Academy and neither Sakumo nor the Hokage wanted to pull her out of there. But Kenoah and Akane were put back under his direct command. The fourth member in their team was a medical Jonin called Hanatarou who had a very unique ninja art that allowed him to send messages with tiny paper-planes. It was almost perfect for battlefield communication even without the somewhat inconvenient chakra-communication-machines the Intelligence-Division still used.

The eleven other teams under Sakumos command where lead by among others Yashiro Uchiha, Gin, whom he had worked with to overhaul the Academy, and one of his old classmates from the Academy, Tao Aburame.

Although the strategy on paper seemed similar, for him personally this was entirely different from what he had done five years ago. He was a front fighter. Now instead of moving his own team across unknown territory, he was moving twelve separate teams across an area that reached over parts of the westernmost forests of the Land of Fire to the border regions of Ame, strategically preparing traps and ambushes and having to rely on other teams to do as he ordered. It was like fighting blind. He had to completely trust the information he was getting from other teams, Hanatarou and mostly Akane, whose sensor skills were a true lifesaver. In order to properly coordinate the other teams, he had to stand back himself. Of course, so every now and then he made enemy contact and had to fight himself. But mostly it felt like he was sitting around doing nothing while others did the fighting.

He was not made for this kind of warfare or for this position. It just felt wrong. How could he sit here ordering Tao or Yashiro or Gin or others to attack, when he didn't do anything or wouldn't even know whether his plan had worked out before he got some sort of message. He wished he had Akane's sensor skills or maybe a Byakugan, then he wouldn't feel quite as blind.

Working with an Aburame drove him mad. Every insect he saw brought him just a small step closer to the edge, closer to insanity. Mostly, they were just normal bugs or flies and he was just paranoid.

His favourite moments, he'd soon learn, would be when Akane or Hanatarou stepped out of the tent and told him that an enemy was advancing on them.

"How many?" he'd always ask.

"Eight" This time Hanatarou's messenger planes had reported the Iwa-Nin.

He grinned. "Kenoah, we've got work to do. Hanatarou, you stay with Akane."

The medic would nod as always. Hanatarou was not very talkative. He hardly even made complete sentences when he could prevent it.

Sakumo had gotten a lot better in those last five years, he realized jut now, in this war. Before, he had only ever fodderized his opponents when he managed to catch them off guard. With his speed, that was an easy thing to do. Often, he had managed to kill three or four enemies before they ever knew what was happening. Now, however … His training with Jiraiya, Orochimaru and Tsunade even with Yashiro had made him even faster. It was paying off greatly. He'd bet he was the fastest Shinobi in the Hidden Leaf by now. But even without his speed he had learned a lot.

This time he took out six opponents in the time Kenoah had struggled with just two. Sakumo was at a point in his training, where everything below Jonin-level was quickly handled. Even most Jonin were an easy task to defeat. He was a beast, a disaster waiting to wreak havoc on enemy shinobi.

Unfortunately, the sudden knowledge how much superior he was to most of their enemies left him a bit arrogant and risk-friendly. If Iwa sent him opponents to massacre, he had no qualms to do just that. Four, six, eight, ten of them. He was a deadly machine, blood dripping from his sword and his fingers and dying the tips of his hair red. Twelve, Fourteen.

"How many", he'd ask.

"Twenty" said Hanatarou.

And Sakumo didn't even flinch.

Fighting was better than waiting around for reports from the other teams, he thought. So, he didn't hesitate to attack. Kenoah hesitated. His teammate was no beast the way he was. He wasn't even a particularly strong Jonin. He was good, but not extraordinary. Sakumo had forgotten that part. He had forgotten that even if he had gotten better, even if hardly any of the opponents they had faced so far could even scratch him – the same was not true for his team.

He normally always kept an eye on Kenoah in these fights. He trusted the man to take care of himself, but it was always better to have an eye on the things that happened around him. However, fighting 20 opponents at once … His eye just drifted away from Kenoah.

His sword cut through armour and flesh and bone alike.

The scream was piercing and went through him like a knife. Mid-attack he turned around and flashed to his comrade, who was on his knees and trying to stay upright but failing miserably. He didn't know what to do. For just a split second his mind was blank, and he was back in a different forest with a different comrade dead and dying. He saw Hige bloody and Kazuki dead and Blue burnt, and for just a second, he lost sight of the opponent, of what they were doing. For just a second, he froze like a bloody amateur, like a Genin fresh from the Academy in his first battle seeing his first man dying.

Again, he thought. Again, he had made a mistake and a comrade paid for it.

It was Kenoah's wheezing breath that brought him out of his shock just in time to block a sword that was aimed for his heart. Instead the blade dug into his shoulder, ripped his flak jacket, cloth, skin and muscle. He grunted in pain but managed to hold onto the hand that was holding the sword slashing a throat and turning around to form quick hand signs.

A giant lightning dragon roared into the sky and hit three of his enemies. Something hit his already injured arm and a second later he had no other choice than to flash in front of Kenoah and catch a strike meant for his comrade with his own body. Well, of course there was another option: letting Kenoah die, but that would have been unacceptable.

He managed to kill the three that his lightning dragon had already injured severely, before he was hit by a bunch of Senbon in the back.

He was not ready to die here, he thought. It was a stupid thought. He was a Jonin of the Hidden Leaf, trained to expect and accept death at all times, suddenly and brutally or slowly and painfully if necessary. But in that moment, he could just think what a waste it would be to die here. For the White Fang to die from … arrogance. Certainly, he knew, there were dozens of shinobi dying every week from smaller mistakes and minor sins. But he … he had never really been arrogant like that before. Yeah, confident … but arrogant, overestimating his own skill? He did not want to die from such a childish mistake. And he did not want Kenoah to die from this mistake.

He had just found his fighting spirit, again. People had just started talking about him, again. The White Fang had just started to be feared, again.

He had read it in some of the messages they had managed to interfere from Iwa or Ame. Their enemies had all but forgotten about him. A handful of missions aside, he'd mostly kept to Konoha for the last years. This apparently had not only let to his name being almost forgotten and his fame to die down in Konoha, but also with their enemies. It was five years ago that he had made a name for himself. But after that he had all but disappeared from the big stage. People, even their enemies, had started seeing him like some sort of One-Hit-Wonder. He had faced the Raikage and survived once. But maybe that had just been luck, they thought. Maybe he was out of shape. Or maybe he'd been hurt too badly. Whatever the reason, the fact that he had hardly done anything noteworthy for five years had been taken as a hint, that he was not a strong as he had once been, not one of the enemies to fear. They found out, the Iwa-nin hadn't even been briefed about him.

It was maybe the reason, why he had had so much success at first. He'd been underestimated.

Now, he had just started proving to them, that he was an enemy to fear. That whoever attacked the Hidden Leaf would have him as an enemy too and he was not one to be trifled with.

The first massages they had interfered had just described him as some young man with white hair. Then they had found out his name. 'Sakumo Hatake'. By now, intel on their enemy and the reports the other teams sent told him that 'Konoha's White Fang' and 'The White Fang of the Leaf' was a name whispered around their enemies' camps with shock and disbelief and just a bit of fear.

He had never given much thought to that name the Kumo-nin had given him. Now, however, he didn't want the White Fang to die quite yet.

So, he fought on.

He got another enemy with a sharp Fuuton-jutsu. Another fell to his sword and the last two, he realized, Akane had taken care of from afar. He collapsed still on the battlefield from pain and loss of blood and lack of chakra and from the poison on the enemies' weapons.

He woke shortly in their tent, ordering his team to retreat a few miles. He told Hanatarou to write Tao Aburame to take their position. At least he thought he had given those orders. He didn't really know whether he managed to talk comprehensibly. Even less so did he actually know whether his orders made sense.

He woke again, what he thought could only be a few hours later, but might have been a few days. He tried to stand up and asked Akane who was closest to him for a report and information about the other teams and about Kenoah, because he didn't quite remember, but he was sure there was something with Kenoah, he had forgotten about.

Asking his questions, he tried to move to his feet, but the moment he got halfway upright something in his head shifted and he lost consciousness again crumbling to the floor before Akane had answered a single question.

He woke again, sweating and shivering and with parched lips and aching throat. He was thirsty. They managed to get some water down his throat. Maybe there was some sleeping medicine in the water, or he was just so weak, but he was back under only moments later.

The next time, he woke strapped to a cot and he thought for a moment he was captured, before he saw Hanatarou. He'd been thrashing too much in his sleep, so therefore the restraints. He didn't understand anything else, though Hanatarou was talking a lot. He must have asked something weird, because Hanatarou suddenly stared at him in shock. Oh, right. He had asked about Kazuki, but it had been Kenoah who had gotten hurt.

Lastly, he woke in Konoha hospital, still strapped to a bed, but he felt a lot better. It smelled of hospital and some lingering scent of people he knew he cared about. He couldn't quite distinguish the scents as he was still too tired and confused – what was he doing here? He should be in the field. – but he knew he loved the people he smelled.

That was his first part in the war. It lasted not quite three months and Takeru Hyuuga, his colleague from Strategic Command, had taken over command on the battlefield for him. They told him, Kenoah was injured badly, but alive. Akane and Hanatarou were back on the field with a new team.


	20. A New Job for Sakumo

**A New Job for Sakumo**

"Sanae?" mumbled Sakumo as he smelled her before he even opened his eyes. "Can you get rid of the restraints? I feel a lot more like myself." His voice slurred a bit from the pain medication.

"Sure" said Sanae in a voice that sounded oddly subdued. "I'll ask the nurses. You … You just wait here, Anija."

He heard her leave and he felt too tired to open his eyes.

They took the restraints from him, but he was not supposed to move much, or they'd have to put them back on to ensure his recovery. He frowned at that. Was it that bad, that he could permanently damage himself just from moving?

He looked down at himself. Overall, it didn't look that bad. There were bandages, but only his arm was in an actual cast.

"I'm fine" he told the nurses. "I won't hurt myself from moving."

"Idiot Anija" grumbled Sanae. "That's the medication. You're not fine."

"I think, I look fine" said Sakumo waving at his bandaged body. "Nothing looks too serious. I don't feel like I'm dying."

"You're not dying, idiot anija!" retorted Sanae with crossed arms. "You might just not be able to fight again, if you keep moving too much."

He flinched a bit at that. "What do you mean?"

"Your arm, idiot!" She gestured at the cast. "All the way from your collar bone to your fingertips there's hardly a bone there, that's not broken. That's your sword arm and you'll need it for finger signs."

Sakumo grunted. "So how long, until I can get back into the field?"

"The field?" She snorted. "You should be happy if you can fight again. Never mind in this war. It's probably over, before you ever get out of here. What did you think, Sakumo?"

He thought about her question, then shook his head not understanding.

"Two against twenty! Are you mad?" She threw her hands into the air.

"I think we won," he reminded her half-heartedly.

She crossed her arms. "Yeah, congratulations. I didn't take you for being suicidal."

"Ah, don't worry. It was just a minor slip up, you know. Happens," he tried to argue, but apparently he only made it worse. "So, what do they say, when can I leave here?"

She seemed to think about a new insult to throw at his head, then she just snorted. "Don't know, yet. Depends on how you heal. But they say, you'll need at least six months to get back to full strength, if at all." Sakumo didn't tell her, that he really doubted, this war would be over in six months. Sanae did not remember wars that would last longer than a few months. He still did, from his youth. "You're on indefinite sick leave. Really shitty timing, with that, Anija. With the war and all." He couldn't help but agree. "Anyway, as far as I know, you'll at least stay in the hospital for the next week or so. And no training whatsoever for the entire month – nothing that involves much moving at all. If everything heals fine, they say, you can start training again in a month. Maybe you can start doing minor missions in about four months. But that would depend on your training." She shrugged. "You know how it goes."

He grunted in acknowledgement.

"Well, you only have yourself to blame." She frowned down at him. "I have an idiot for a brother."

He hesitated then he smiled up at her. "Do you think you can get me a few senbon, here?"

She looked at him as if he were mad. "You want me to get you weapons into a hospital?" Now that she said it like this it sounded like a bad idea. "And what part of 'no training' did you not understand?"

"Aw, come on. It's no real training, if I just sit here and throw a few needles. I need to learn how to use my left hand."

"That is still training." She was clearly disapproving.

"I think, I'm the older brother here. Shouldn't you be the one all happy to break the rules? And if I tell you that I can do a bit of senbon tossing, you shouldn't doubt your niisan."

"Yeah, if my niisan weren't a big irresponsible oaf. So, I have to be the adult now, I guess."

"You can't just declare yourself … ah, forget it. Just get me a pencil and a piece of paper. Trying to write is not training, is it?"

She considered him for a moment. "As long as you don't throw the pencil" she thought aloud.

Damn her! "I won't" promised Sakumo. Maybe he could do other things than throwing. Stabbing … He could learn to stab … or juggling, he assumed. If he could train his left to juggle, it would surely help him later on. He really hoped he'd be able to retrain his right hand, though. Training his left would be a nice break, but he knew, he'd never get back to full strength without his right.

Three days later he was still scooped up in hospital fiddling with two pencils he tried to juggle between the fingers of his left hand. He felt twitchy and bored at daytime and couldn't catch any sleep at night. Fighting in the woods, dragging through the dirt and constantly trying to find cover while keeping tabs on his subordinates during the last weeks … He had somehow forgotten how awfully boring a prolonged hospital stay could be. He felt that it was cruel, that he was just supposed to sit here do nothing and take away space that was sorely needed for more and more wounded from the front coming in every day, while his comrades were still fighting against the shinobi from Iwagakure.

Just yesterday they had finally given in to his pleas to give him at least a bit freedom to walk and use his legs a bit. But really there was nowhere for him to go. Sanae had left on a mission again, Jiraiya was sent south west, where Suna was marching towards the border, Akane was still were he had last seen her out on the battlefield … He visited Kenoah for an hour or two and they played a game of shogi before Kenoah announced that he was going back to the front in just two more days. Only shortly after the nurses had ushered him out of Kenoah's room and back to his own hospital room where he was supposed to rest again, as if he hadn't rested enough those last few days and as if he were even able to rest with that twitchy feeling in his muscles. It was as if his body wanted to force him to keep up with his training – only he wasn't allowed to.

This morning he'd done a few squats and one-armed push-ups, his dominant right arm still restrained by the cast. That's how one of the nurses had found and reprimanded him before she had threatened she'd tie him to the bed, if he were to start training again before the doctor allowed. So, after his bland hospital lunch – he did somewhat prefer food pills, he thought - there was really nothing else for him to do than keep playing with some of the pencils and papers Sanae had left him before leaving for her mission.

He tried to embed the paper with some of his lightning chakra, but the burnable material just shrivelled away before he could even start to think about how he could use lightning strengthened paper as a weapon. After burning down a stack of paper and musing, that he could just use this as Katon-substitute in case he never learned that element, he left the paper and turned to the pencils. Whirling them between his fingers – he'd become quite apt with his left hand – he tried the same thing he'd been doing with the paper. At least the hard wood pencils didn't immediately ignite into flames, as he cloaked them in his Raiton-Chakra. That was a plus.

Also, they were really easy to throw. A bit more difficult than Kunai, as they lacked the aerodynamic, slender design and didn't lay nearly as good in his hand, but – he acknowledged with a satisfied nod – he would be able to make them into a useful weapon. Of course, only ever of value, if he somehow lost his entire shinobi equipment during a mission and didn't have anything other at hand than the slim wooden sticks. But it would do. The pencil was embedded two inches deep in the opposite wall. With the next throw he aimed more carefully and actually hit his mark. It wasn't that surprising, really, he had learned fighting with both hands before – every shinobi with a bit of talent did – but still, he had always very heavily relied on his right hand. He'd have to retrain his entire Kenjutsu swordsmanship for the duration of this injury. Well, at least he had something to do.

He retrieved the pencils with a flick of his wrist pulling on almost invisible chakra threats to draw them back. He had seen similar techniques from the Suna-Puppeteers – though of course far more advanced – and he had imitated the Jutsu. It was rather handy to retrieve lost weaponry – especially when your fighting style so heavily relied on a sword that he was prone to lose hold off every now and then.

He juggled a bit more with the pencils and by the time the door to his room opened he felt almost embarrassed due to the many holes in the walls.

"Are you vandalizing the village hospital, Sakumo-san?" asked a voice he knew quite well by now.

"Hokage-sama!" There was no hiding his stunned surprise. The older man just smiled at him for a while.

"I've been informed about your state, Sakumo-san. You won't be able to rejoin the battlefield for the time being."

"The village needs me" protested Sakumo a bit weakly, though he had already somewhat accepted that restriction. "Everybody's fighting so I can't just sit back." By now, they were fighting both Iwagakure in the west and Kumogakure in the north, and it looked like Sunagakure and Kirigakure would join the conflict soon.

There was a small sigh from the Sarutobi. "I didn't say, you wouldn't do anything. You're right, the village needs all its shinobi now more than ever. But I won't send you back to the battlefield." Sakumo frowned questioningly. "It wouldn't be of much use to send you back anyway. Autumn is well under way, and if winter will fall early and as cold as our meteorology experts suggest it will be, we'll hopefully be able to secure the defence line and overwinter with as little fighting as possible. Sending you back now, would just be a waste. In your state, they'd just kill you and the fighting will in all likelihood seize soon anyway." He smiled wryly, then he looked up at the Hatake. "No, I want you to take on a team."

"A team?" Sakumo blinked stupidly. He had a team. Sure, they were a bit scattered at the moment with Kenoah preparing to go back to the front, him confined to his hospital bed and the others still fighting, but they were still a team. And mostly complete if somebody hadn't omitted to tell him, that his team had died in his absence. The thought made him shudder. "Did something happen to my team?" he found himself asking.

"Oh, no" smiled the Hokage. "Not that kind of team. A Genin team."

Sakumo blinked again. That sounded even madder and if anything, he was just more confused. "A Genin …?" Suddenly he saw a picture of Kagami in his eyes. "You want me to be a Sensei for some of those little Academy brats?" The realization had come embarrassingly slow.

"Now, now" reprimanded the Hokage, "Hadn't it been you who told me, to put more faith in the Academy's teaching. I'm sure they are all fine shinobi."

"I'm sure they are," he grunted somewhat absently. "They are still brats. Loud and annoying and … you really want me to be a Sensei to some snot-nosed Genin team?" He hmphed indignantly.

"I still remember when you had just been a snot-nosed Genin."

"I doubt I was ever … like that. They are lazy and entitled and so loud … I mean, I do respect the Academy …" But if he had learned anything at his short mission to reform the Academy, it had been that the young children had become somewhat pampered by the long period of relative peace.

"I'm sure you'll do great."

"Yeah … sure … I'm really more of a Front-Guy," he managed weakly. "Don't even know what to do with those kids."

The Hokage smiled at him understandingly. "I know it's less than ideal, but we need shinobi to prepare the new Genin for the war. They just graduated and even if we manage to hold out over the winter, they'll probably be needed to join the war-effort come spring." Sakumo shuddered at the Hokage's estimation. So, was that it? They just gave him three Genin and he was supposed to drill them for three or four months, so they were ready, when they'd be sent out to die in spring. That was the shinobi life, he thought sadly. But he also remembered missions that should have surely ended in death. Yet, he had always pulled through. As had … most of their team.

"Is it at least that Namikaze-kid?" asked the Hatake half-heartedly, because it didn't really make a difference. He'd read Namikaze's name several times while trying to reform the Academy and creating promotion programmes for the especially talented. Sarutobi just snorted at him. So, it wouldn't be Namikaze … It probably didn't matter anyway, because if they really were to join the war-effort by spring, the Namikaze-brat still wouldn't have the necessary skill to do much better than any of his peers, he suspected. Maybe that Genius-pride, that all geniuses – including himself – inherently possessed, would even be a deterrent.

"Why me?" He asked before Sarutobi could leave again. The question was nagging him. He was a few years younger than most Jonin-Sensei he knew. To top it off, he was a front-soldier and it was war … it seemed so off to put him into teaching now of all times. He was sure, even with his arm …

Oh, right … He knew the answer even before the Hokage spoke. It was precisely because of his injury. They couldn't send him back on the battle field, they also wouldn't want to waste perfectly healthy shinobi to teach children the arts of war when an actual war had to be fought … The Hokage needed every man and woman out there at the front or ready to march at a moment's notice. He also needed experienced shinobi to prepare the youngsters … So why not give that job to the shinobi incapable of participating in the actual fighting. He felt a bit bitter, thinking that he'd been taught by the great Kagami Uchiha, when great men and women had been put in charge of teaching the next generation. Now, the most important quality for a Sensei was that he had to be crippled or injured enough to be of no actual use on the battlefield.

He felt a bit humiliated at the thought and was actually quite happy when the Hokage left without answering his question.


	21. Team 11

This is a long one with a bit of rambling at the start I guess ... I'm sorry for that ^^

 **Team 11**

For the next two days Sakumo found himself in a weird state between excitement, curiosity, annoyance and resignation. Maybe there would be some special talent among his three students, maybe a model student, a genius like him, or somebody he knew. Maybe he should feel at least a bit curious even if it was likely that he wouldn't know any of them, because he had honestly never cared to befriend anybody who was younger than Sanae – and in all honesty it was also unlikely that there would be a genius like him … or a genius at all, to be frank. He was giddy and annoyed with himself. In the end it would probably just be a bunch of average kids, loud and annoying and … bratty. And really, there was nothing he could do against that, because it was the Hokage's decision who'd join his team.

He wondered whether Kagami had felt the same. Had he just resigned himself to whichever team Sarutobi had chosen for him?

Damn, if they were snot-nosed assholes or absolutely incapable he couldn't even reject them. Mostly, the Jonin-Sensei had a say in whether they accepted a team, and if they didn't the young shinobi were sent back to Academy until a Jonin finally would accept them. Now, however … As the war was still in progress and despite the nearing winter-break not expected to end anytime soon, the village couldn't exactly be picky with its new shinobi … so he couldn't be picky either. He'd just have to take them on and somehow make do with whatever team he was given.

And then he'd have to teach them and lead them into battle come spring. Or … was he supposed to rejoin his old team in spring and leave his Genin-team to some other team captain as cannon fodder or whatever? That would just be cruel.

When he went to the Academy to get a first glance at his team the next Monday he still didn't know who they'd be. Apparently, there was quite a bit of confusion. He'd been informed that two of the designated Senseis weren't able to do the job after all due to their deteriorating health. Also, though he thought the Hokage had agreed with him, that graduation at age 12 and only when they were skilled enough was most desirable, war had started and they needed new recruits and he guessed the entire situation was less than desirable … so even after the normal graduation exams last week they had given the students that had failed a second chance this morning to increase the number of graduates and thus of course the number of soldiers for the war. All that had thrown the planning into turmoil, so now he suspected, even the Hokage didn't know the teams yet.

And he was right. He entered the Academy through the head teacher's window to avoid the gathered masses of newly graduated Genin and their parents. Inside he found the Hokage, the head teacher, two teachers, including the Chunin he'd spied on for his Academy-mission – and really that was just awkward because he didn't quite know if they were on good terms now – and a bunch of his fellow Jonin – the future senseis.

His arm was still in a cast and tightly secured to his torso and with a raised eyebrow he noted bandages and casts at almost every Jonin in the room. Apparently, his estimation that they were all going to be cripples and sick people had been quite correct. He knew some of them from passing or some minor missions, but with most of them he wasn't even sure about their names. There was a woman almost twice his age with crutches, a pale boy, who couldn't be older than nineteen with a gruesome scar over his ear and face and bandages around his torso who was silently coughing, a man a few years older than him with a missing arm and an Uchiha with thick scars over his closed eyes and Sakumo was sure he'd been blinded by an enemy. There were others with less severe or permanent looking injuries, some others he assumed were just considered too old to fight and one that he assumed was just naturally sickly and frail. He with his destroyed arm … well he assumed he ranked somewhere in the middle if he'd had to sort the present Jonin by severity of their injuries. Apart from the sickly one and the scarred boy he didn't think any of the injuries were actually life threatening. But with a missing arm or leg or shattered bones or blind they weren't much help on the battle field either.

He thought of his father who years ago had come home from war with a severely broken leg. He'd still been a shinobi then and had all the demeanour of a shinobi and it hadn't been in anyway life threatening, but it had never really healed and for the longest time Sakumo remembered – before he had finally died from sickness – he hadn't been able to fight or run or even walk and stand without pain. He'd tried to conceal it, but by then Sakumo himself had been old enough and trained long enough in the arts of the shinobi to not be so easily fooled.

He could only hope his arm would heal well or that he could somehow get used to using his left hand, or else he would just end up like his father. Shinobi were weapons, tools for war and a shinobi who couldn't fight … well, was just a broken tool. His father at least had also been a father and a husband and a son to a family who needed him. Sakumo of course would be a husband and brother, still, but with Sanae and Akane all grown up, trained and respectable shinobi in their own right, spending most of their time on missions … he couldn't exactly picture himself sitting at home alone just waiting for his family to come back for a day or two before heading out again. They didn't exactly need him.

Maybe, he thought as he greeted the present shinobi, it wasn't all that bad, that he was given a team. Of course, he felt a bit sorry for the Genin of this year, whose teachers were not chosen because they were capable shinobi or the best to complement their skills, but because they just couldn't serve their village otherwise … But at least, Sakumo would have something to do.

How many of his fellow soon-to-be Jonin-Senseis were thinking along the same line, he wondered?

Two of the teachers were loudly discussing the skills of two of the graduates and in which teams to sort them and Sakumo didn't quite catch their names. Ya… something and Matsu…whatever, when the Hokage called a sudden stop to the discussion.

"I think we have our teams. Now for the senseis." He looked around the room, then he gathered some papers and pushed them to the scarred boy. "Team 1" he announced and one of the teachers scribbled down the names of the team on a scroll. "Team 2", he handed more paper to the blinded Uchiha and so on.

Sakumo waited a bit nervously as one after the other the teams were assigned and the Jonin trickled out of the room to collect their Genin-teams. The Hokage took a bit to assign senseis to teams 5, 8 and 9 until finally Sakumo was left with three other Jonin, when the Hokage pushed a stack of paper to him, without even glancing up, not giving it so much as a second thought. "Team 11," he announced.

Sakumo took the data sheets of his team and slipped out of the bureau without even glancing at the names. He took a first look at them while absentmindedly walking down the stairs towards were the Genin were making quite the ruckus. He passed the sickly Jonin who was leading his new team to a quiet class room, a girl with green…ish hair, an Inuzuka and a chubby boy with glasses. This had to be team 7, he remembered.

The first paper sheet just gave him general information about his duties as Jonin-Sensei, about what he was expected to teach them, the standard requirements they'd need to fulfil to make it to Chunin and what skills they had to have learned in the Academy. He just skimmed over the information. The next document was a copy from a mission scroll assigning their first D-ranked mission for the next day – collecting trash from the park. And then the moment he stepped into the big classrooms where 12 Genin were still waiting for their teachers, he finally read the first data sheet on his first team-member. He groaned as he read the name.

Great. That was just what he had needed … He didn't even read any further than the name and flipped through the other papers in his hand confirming his suspicions as to the identities of his other team-members. Just … magnificent, he thought sarcastically glancing up at the gathered graduates his gaze flickering to one of the boys he immediately recognized as one of his students.

He waited for the Jonin of Team 10 to collect his students, before he spoke up himself.

"Why are you all injured or sick?" a girl asked interrupting the Jonin.

"'Cause they don't have the strong shinobi to spare" one of – Sakumo recognized him immediately – his future Genins answered lazily.

"They're really scraping the bottom of the barrel here," the blonde next to him grunted with a disapproving frown on his face. "Whatever … it's war so I guess there's no other choice."

"Ise, Amaya." The Jonin just read the last name of his team and a quiet Uchiha girl stepped up and followed him and two others out of the room. Now that he looked around the class, there were quite a few Uchiha ranging from the youngest to the oldest graduates.

Sakumo stepped in front of the teacher's desk taking a final glance at the three names of his students. Just … great.

"Team 11", he started interrupting a boy who just started nagging him, whether he was maybe finally his teacher. He was not, Sakumo knew, because he had already found his students in the crowd. "Akimichi, Choza." The fattest boy in the class jumped up suddenly and a bit nervously before glancing at his friends obviously afraid they might not be with him in his team. He needn't have worried. "Nara, Shikaku." There was a relieved sigh by the Akimichi and a lazy nod from the Nara. "Yamanaka, Inoichi." Suddenly the Akimichi bumped his fist in the air as if he'd just won the lottery and wrapped his chubby arms around his two friends. Shikaku smiled gladly but also a bit uncomfortable with the crushing hug, while Inoichi tried to wrestle Choza away.

"Ah, cut it out, Choza" muttered Inoichi. "You're strangling us with your fat padding. You're so childish. As if they'd ever let us not join the same team. You know, Shika's dad has helped to build the teams, right?" He sounded beyond annoyed but not maleficent.

"Just come over here and follow me" demanded Sakumo leaving the room.

The three boys followed him through the corridor, not without bickering among themselves.

"You're so mean, Ino-stick!" cried the Akimichi indignantly.

"And you're really childish, Fatcho!" countered the Yamanaka with an annoyed grunt, as the Akimichi hit him against the shoulder. "Ow!"

"Just cut it out" said Shikaku, hands shoved in his pockets with a slight slump strolling after the two.

Sakumo arrived at an empty classroom and pushed the door open to let the three kids in.

That was just weird … He knew Shikaku a bit from his visits at Shikaruma's, the boy had even been at his wedding, though he remembered, he'd slept through most of the ceremony. He had nothing against Shikaku – really in that regard, he thought, he could have had worse picks for students. He was a lazy bum as much as his father, but if what he heard was true, he was just as much of a genius, too. And overall, he thought the Nara were an albeit slothful but pleasant bunch. He'd never met a Nara he didn't like. The problem was, however … that Shikaruma Nara, the boy's father was still somewhat his superior. And that was just awkward. He didn't really look forward to his boss hearing everything about his little missteps and failures and incompetence as a teacher – because he was sure he'd make a few mistakes every now and then – from his son and then he'd have to justify himself … or worse, because that was just the kind of guy Shikaruma was, he'd joke about it and never let him live it down.

As for the others … It wasn't quite as bad, he thought. He had gotten to know Choza's mother quite a bit those last years. She was a bit more … personal and in your face than most people he knew, and that could be quite uncomfortable he thought, now that he was her son's teacher. But it wasn't like they worked closely together, so he could easily avoid her, he hoped. And Inori Yamanaka … well, the leader of the intelligence division was quite the intimidating fellow. He guessed, that came with the job. After all he not only was able to invade your mind himself, but he had an army of subordinates at his back and call, that had very specific skill-sets in the mind-reading, interrogation and torturing departments. That in itself was reason enough for worry. And unlike the other two he didn't know Inori that well, only knew him from passing and from what Cho and Shikaruma had told him. Sure, the man too had been at his wedding, but that had been more of a 'you can't invite those two without inviting Inori'-kind of thing.

However, his relationship to those three individually aside … If he screwed up he'd just have to explain and justify himself to three of the most powerful – and he didn't mean the physical kind of powerful, but the political kind of powerful, though combat wise they were threatening as well – shinobi of Konoha.

He did not look forward to that.

"Okay," he started as all three had sat down, with the Yamanaka leaning more than sitting on one of the tables. "I'm Hatake Sakumo. You all obviously know each other already," that got a silent grunt from the Yamanaka, "and I at least know a bit about you, but how about you introduce yourselves to me before we get down to business?"

The three boys shared a few looks, until the Yamanaka took the lead. "I am Inoichi from the Yamanaka-Clan," he introduced himself formally but with a silent frown on his face.

Sakumo guessed that the boy could be difficult. Choza seemed much like his mother, a cheerful boy with not quite as much self-confidence and obviously a bit of a pouty defiance whenever he felt insulted – as Sakumo had witnessed already. Shikaku seemed to be a quiet, lazy boy, very comfortable with letting others take the lead. And Inoichi … well, he had just seemed mean and judgemental from what Sakumo had gathered so far. Also, intelligent and overall a bit bad-tempered.

"I think, you already know our Clan's technique," he went on and Sakumo didn't know whether it was just a general assumption by the boy, that every halfway decent Jonin in the village knew about the Yamanaka, or whether he'd heard about Sakumo before and knew, that Sakumo had indeed worked with a few Yamanakas already. He felt a silent pang as he suddenly remembered Kazuki's burned corpse.

Only after Sakumo blinked at the boy for a few times did he realize that that was all Inoichi was going to say. Practical and to the point, Sakumo added to his estimation of Inoichi's personality.

"How about you personally?" he asked after a moment. "Like your hobbies or what you like or what you want to …" He suddenly hesitated as he thought about the war and the likelihood of those boys ever reaching their adult years. Mortality among shinobi was high in general, among young and inexperienced shinobi even more so and during war … well. He coughed to mask his hesitation. "What you want for the future."

The blonde looked at his friends before turning back to Sakumo with a bit of a frown on his face. "Eh …," he started. "My hobbies?" He seemed a bit put out by the question and for a moment Sakumo feared the boy would just say 'shuriken and training' or something along that line, proving that he'd never been a child. Sakumo thought what he'd answer to the question and realized it wasn't that easy. As a kid, yeah … he'd probably have answered 'swordsmanship' or something like that. Growing up during war … even though he had tried, he, too, had never been a child after all. He had hoped this would be different for kids who grew up during relative peace time.

"I like flowers," answered the Yamanaka finally blushing faintly, then his frown deepened as if he expected Sakumo to mock him for his rather girlish and not warriorlike response.

Sakumo just blinked. That was … unexpected. It was definitely not 'shuriken and training'. He smiled a bit. Then he looked at the Akimichi to prompt him to speak.

"Choza!" The boy blurted. Then he blushed a bit. "I mean I'm Akimichi Choza. I think, you know my mom, right?" Sakumo nodded a bit put off by the excited boy. "Yeah, she mentioned you once or twice, I think. I like … ah … my friends." He hesitated, then he blushed a bit more. "I mean my team now, I guess. And I love eating out. Especially those all-you-can-eat buffets. You know that new barbecue place that opened just last year? They have buffet every Wednesday." He smiled broadly. "Maye you can take us there some time, Sensei. Since the war started, my parents don't really have the time anymore and I don't have enough money. I mean, I spent all my pocket money already. For that Ramen Eating Contest last month." Sakumo just stared at the talking boy. "They said, they'd pay the expanses of the winner, and I thought I could do it, you know … anyway … so …" He finally stopped as he realized Sakumo was staring at him.

"Well, you lost," muttered Inoichi the moment the Akimchi suddenly quieted. "So, stop telling that story to everybody who doesn't want to hear it, when you didn't even win. I mean, I'm not blurting out to everybody about me always being the second or third best at kunai-throwing practice."

Choza blushed shyly, then pouted and crossed his arms in front of his chest. "Well, you just blurted it out, dumbass," he retorted. Now, it was Inoichi who blushed.

"Yeah, whatever," muttered the blonde, "your cousin won and that's really not important here, anyway. Unless you just wanted to warn Sensei about you eating all our mission rations in advance or something like that." He crossed his arms himself and the two boys glared at each other until Sakumo coughed silently to get their attention back.

"Anyway," the Akimich ended his introduction, "my cousin won. But that was really not fair. If it had been anybody else, I was sure to win." He grinned, but the grin soured immediately when the Yamanaka muttered:

"Sure, cause only an Akimichi can out-eat an Akimichi."

"Oh, shut up and go back to growing your roses. Normal people can't just live on water and sunlight like you," retorted Choza.

Inoichi glared at him but before he could throw another insult, Shikaku interrupted the two.

"Shikaku Nara," he just said, and the other two boys got quiet. "I've been at your wedding."

"Slept through my wedding" corrected Sakumo.

Shikaku grinned a bit. "Whatever. It's my hobby."

"Going to weddings?" asked Sakumo amused but also a bit irritated.

"Sleeping."

"You're just like your father," Sakumo couldn't help but mutter, immediately fearing the boy would tell his father about the comment but Shikaku only laughed quietly.

"I like watching the deer in our Clan's forest. And I like playing shogi … when it's not too bothersome."

Worse than his father, Sakumo corrected his former statement silently.

"What about you?" asked Choza before Sakumo could change the topic.

Oh, right … maybe he should say something more about himself.

"Well, I'm Sakumo of the Hatake-Clan. We're just a small clan, so maybe you haven't heard about it," he added prompting Inoichi to snort. Sakumo looked at him questioningly.

"You really have no idea about your own fame, huh?" snorted the Yamanaka. "You're the White Fang, aren't you?"

Sakumo nodded. Indeed … Sanae had mentioned that his old fame had resurged during those few weeks he'd spent leading on the battlefield. But he hadn't exactly thought about it that much and confined to his room in the hospital there hadn't been any need to.

"What's the White Fang?" asked the Akimichi frowning in deep thought.

Inoichi groaned annoyed, but he didn't answer. Sakumo smiled at Choza, a bit happy that not everybody knew him by some nickname his enemies had given him.

"No, really? What do you mean with 'White Fang'?" asked Choza when nobody answered him

"He is," said Shikaku after a moment nodding in Sakumo's direction. "Don't know why, but that's what he's called. He's supposedly really strong." There was a bit of doubt in his voice as both he and Inoichi glanced at the Hatake and Sakumo suddenly felt scrutinized and judged.

"Not impressed," grunted Inoichi shrugging, eyes glued at Sakumo's cast. "If he were that good …"

He didn't have time to finish, because Choza suddenly piped up: "Really! So, we'll have an actual legend for a Sensei! Damn, that's so cool. I was a bit worried. Mum always said, they'd just give me some idiot jonin for a sensei."

Both Inoichi and Shikaku frowned at that and Sakumo looked a bit lost, so Choza elaborated.

"Well, I mean she said, because it's war, all the good people would be off fighting. Said if I were better, I'd have graduated last year, and they'd give me a cool sensei, but because it's now, they'd just have to scrap the bottom of the barrel." He looked a bit flustered. Then he smiled apologetically at Sakumo. "Sorry."

"Never mind." It was a bit what he himself had thought. Though, even if he had 'minded' he probably wouldn't have told Choza. He was already getting a head ache.

"So," he went on, "I've only now been given your data sheets, so I think we can just head out and make a team training exercise, so I get a first real glance at your skill before looking at your Academy results." He tapped at the stack of papers in his hands. "Then, we'll have our first mission tomorrow."

"Oh, yeah," exclaimed Choza pumping his massive fists into the air in excitement. "Formation: Ino-Shika-Cho is now officially on duty!"

Shikaku smiled a bit, Inoichi just looked annoyed. Sakumo didn't really know what to say to that, so he headed out for the training grounds.

When they stepped outside of the Academy they passed some other teams and Choza was about to run for the Academy training grounds before Inoichi called him back with an annoyed grunt.

"We're not academy students anymore, idiot."

"Oh, yeah …" The Akimichi blushed a bit and followed the other members of team 11 towards the Konoha training area.

It was a busy day, Sakumo realized. In addition to seventeen new Genin teams out and about, there were other teams preparing to go out to war, some throwing them curious glances. Sakumo didn't really want to have his first glance at his team's level of skill altered by any distraction from a loud audience. He wanted to see them at their best, and if they weren't as good as he expected … or really even if they only were normal Genin or even Chunin level, some of his fellow Konoha Shinobi could be quite mean with their words and if any of his pupils had a confidence issue, that would be detrimental to their skill. Of course, it would be something they'd have to work on eventually, but he wanted his first look at his team to be unadulterated.

So, he searched for a private area a bit into the woods.

"Alright" he stopped when he finally estimated that they were indeed alone. Then he glanced at the sun. It was already way past noon. He realized he hadn't really prepared for this. Kagami-Sensei had made them go through some sort of test that involved Sakumo getting the shit kicked out of him by his teacher. That was about the only thing he remembered from that first day. And Yashiro being a bit of a jackass to Akane. "I want you to catch me until sundown."

"Catch you?" That was Inoichi. "What do you mean, 'catch you'? It's not like you're a Jonin or anything," he grunted and pushed his hands in his pockets. It was a bit curious how different the posture of both Shikaku and Inoichi were, though both their bodies stood a bit slouched with hands in their pockets. Inoichi seemed annoyed and a bit defiant. Shikaku just looked lazy and absent.

"Well, I'm not exactly at my best health right now" admitted Sakumo moving his arm a bit. "So, it should be fair." He shrugged, because it really wasn't. If he couldn't defeat a bunch of Genin, even with all four limbs broken that would be a cause for worry. "And anyway, it's not like you'll have to defeat me. You could just trap me or something. Let's just say … yeah, that should do it. If you throw me into the water, you win. It should be fun."

Inoichi didn't look amused and Shikaku just looked sceptical. Choza was all in, though. Sakumo decided, he liked Choza. Inoichi on the other hand was just an annoying little git. Shikaku … well, he'd met sleeping pills that had been more active.

"Well, let's start" he grunted and with that, he was gone.

Without so much as a second thought he made himself comfortable in a nearby tree and started to read their data sheets. He had intended to put that off a bit … but really, why waste the time? He glanced down at his students who were still blinking at the thin air, he'd left behind.

"WHAT!?" That was Choza screaming. "He just … How are we supposed to catch him, if he's just …?"

"That's Shunshin" muttered Inoichi and Sakumo thought he heard a silently added insult. He'd thought those three were friends the way their parents were but so far Inoichi just seemed offensive.

The first data sheet he looked at was Shikaku's. Name, age, birthday, physical characteristics … he just skimmed through them and finally landed at his academy results. He was a bit surprised to realize that he'd just been dead average as far as grades went. Well, if he was as lazy as his father, that was easily explained. Also, it proved Shikaku apparently had had no wish to graduate early. It made Sakumo wonder why he'd suddenly decided to graduate now at age 11 and not wait another year. Maybe his father had pressured him? But that was unlike Shikaruma …

He looked at the second sheet, Inoichi's, and his question was easily answered. Inoichi had good grades throughout. Not one of those high flyer geniuses the Academy saw every now and then, but good. Very good actually. There was a note that a teacher had asked him to graduate last year already, but Inoichi had declined. The teacher had expressed wonderment about that, as Inoichi was apparently 'very eager to learn the ninja arts, studious and dutiful', as the teacher had put it. There was another note, that he was 'slowed down in his progress by Nara Shikaku and his laziness'. So, maybe Shikaku had wanted to wait and Inoichi had waited with him and this year, Inoichi hadn't been willing to wait any longer and Shikaku just went along?

He skimmed down through some of the other comments by the teachers. There was constant praise for Inoichi, and consternation at the bad influence of Shikaku. Not much mentioning of Choza. Maybe, he'd been wrong, and Inoichi and Choza actually weren't that close.

The boys down on the ground had started arguing between themselves about what to do. Shikaku seemed a bit less lazy than normally but still unwilling to put much effort into their task. Choza made to search the near vicinity.

Choza's data sheet proved him to be a horrible student. 'Cheerful and friendly' the teachers wrote 'sometimes a bit shy'. One teacher called him 'a horrible shinobi though not due to lack of effort. Not meant for fighting'. Apparently, it was uncommon for a Clan member to show that little talent. Sakumo frowned at that. He actually felt a bit defensive over Choza who so far was the only one he actually liked between the three.

Choza had apparently failed the exams two days ago and just graduated this morning on his second attempt. It made Sakumo wonder, whether Shikaku and Inoichi would have just left Choza behind destroying the next generation of the fabled Ino-Shika-Cho before it even really came to be.

He glanced at his students. Inoichi now ordered Choza to come back. Then he sat down in a meditative position and shortly after that Sakumo had the distinct feeling of shifting chakra that reminded him a bit of Akane whenever she cast out her chakra to enhance her sensing abilities. So, he had a sensor type here. He masked his presence. It wasn't necessarily his strong point, he thought. He wouldn't be able to fool high class sensors. But Inoichi was just a kid, after all.

In fact, Inoichi didn't sense him. After a moment, Sakumo reprimanded himself. He had wanted to see their skill and not give them an impossible task. Inoichi was doing the right thing, so what else was Sakumo waiting for? For the Yamanaka to suddenly rise to Jonin and above level sensor skill? He put his documents back in his pouch and gradually demasked his own chakra.

He made a mental note at what point Inoichi suddenly perked up and turned to his comrades.

"I have him!" He exclaimed looking at his teammates.

"Really?" Shikaku blinked disbelieving making the Yamanaka pout a bit.

"You know, we Yamanaka are great sensors, right?" blurted Inoichi out a bit indignantly. He sounded prideful.

Maybe as a newly appointed Sensei it was a normal thing to compare his new team to his old team. If he was the Sensei that meant he was Kagami … Though, he thought, he made a poor Kagami. On the other hand, Choza already had somewhat of a hero worship for him since the moment Inoichi had mentioned his 'White Fang'-nickname. Then … Shikaku of course was like him, back when he was young. Genius, not too keen on graduating the academy, the quiet and observing type. Of course, the comparison was a bit poor as they had absolutely different reasons for not graduating as soon as they were ready. But there were enough similarities to make the comparison proper, he decided while watching Shikaku silently take the lead.

It had happened swiftly and before any of them even knew it, Shikaku took leadership in his hands and gave them a plan – of course a plan that would be of no value as Sakumo was able to overhear every word, but he had to give them props for effort. Inoichi seemed a bit put off, Sakumo thought. He'd taken up the leader role for the longest part of the day, but now as it got important … He didn't complain, but there was the slightest frown on his face and a scrutinizing look as if he was just searching for the mistake in Shikaku's plan.

Choza of course would be Akane. Again, the comparison didn't quite add up, if only for the difference in gender, but it still seemed so obvious. He was the worst by grades, but hard working and trying his best. He remembered how Akane had been when she was young, always trying her best, always doing more than was necessary or expected, always putting in extra effort and taking extra training hours to somehow catch up to her two teammates, always quick to action … The way Choza had immediately taken to search the vicinity a tedious and tiresome task with no promise whatsoever of result … he reminded Sakumo a bit of a young Akane who had not yet found her strengths. Also, Akane had been the heart of their team … She'd been so different, not raised by trained killers, still enjoying her childhood as much as she could despite the early death of her parents. Still feeling as though these little things, like playing around, like taking their team and friends out to eat or like meeting at evenings for some fun, actually mattered. Yashiro and he, they'd just been about work and training and never really done anything to bond with their team beyond that. It had been Akane's idea he remembered, to arrange those team-eating-outs every few days.

Inoichi … Well, there was only one person left, so Inoichi had to be the Yashiro of their team. And that was so fitting. Dutiful, bad-tempered, prideful, with a certain clan-arrogance and ambitious for leadership. He didn't want to think like that, it wasn't fair to Inoichi nor Yashiro … but he couldn't really help it when those thoughts entered his mind.

It gave him an actual head ache. It wasn't like he was on bad terms with Yashiro. He'd never had any problems with the Uchiha leaving his team … but he wouldn't know how he could teach somebody who was like Yashiro. Who was so unlike himself. He tried to push the thought away and just observe with no judgement whatsoever, but he failed abysmally.

When they attacked, their strategy was sound. In the end, it failed, because Sakumo had known all along what their plan was, so when Inoichi used his Mind-Body-Jutsu the second he thought Sakumo was incapable of defending himself, Sakumo disbanded the clone Shikaku had caught in his shadow binding technique and Inoichi slumped in defeat, as his soul was still rushing back to his body. Sakumo used the chance to securely tie him around a tree and when he woke up, he was well and truly caught.

"Choza!" called the Yamanaka. "Help me out, here." The overweight Genin came closer snickering a bit. "And damn it, that's not funny!"

"Sorry, sorry …"

Sakumo didn't interfere, while Choza freed Inoichi, instead he had his eyes on Shikaku who was thinking on a new strategy. The boy was really brilliant, he realized. The strategy had been ingenious. Of course, there was hardly anything a Genin could do, to catch a more experienced Jonin, but even still ... He'd have given them that win, he thought, if Inoichi hadn't so utterly screwed up. As a sensor, it had been his job to realize the Sakumo they attacked, had been a clone. He reprimanded himself for that line of thought. He was unfair to Inoichi and he knew it … but that had been it during his time with Kagami-Sensei, right? Yashiro had screwed up their teamwork every time … Because he was to prideful to admit, when he was outmatched. So, Inoichi should have just realized …

But just like there was hardly a chance for a Genin to administer a strategy a more experienced Jonin would actually fall for and that way defeat him, it was even more difficult for a Genin to sense a Jonin if the Jonin wanted to remain hidden.

Though, he reminded himself, that had been why he had only masked his chakra to the point where Inoichi had been able to sense him earlier.

Again, that was an unfair estimation, as Inoichi back then had put all his effort into sensing, while now, he was fighting.

The next strategy failed just like the first. Again, it was really sound, but this time it had been Choza who had attacked just a split second too late. Inoichi reprimanded the Akimichi for that and muttered something about incompetence and … really that was just rich, as Inoichi had been the one to screw up the last time.

In all honesty, the third strategy probably only failed because Sakumo had put a bit too much effort into making it fail, and the fourth was obviously just not up to par, Shikaku apparently running out of ideas. That didn't stop Sakumo from looking at Inoichi for blame, though. Inoichi had not been able to jump out of the way in time for Choza to attack. Inoichi hadn't pointed out the mistakes in Shikaku's plan although the deepening frown on his face had made evident, that he'd seen them.

Sun set, and he met his tired and sweating students on the same clearing they had started their training exercise on hours ago. Shikaku and Choza were sitting on the ground, Shikaku leaning against a wooden log for target exercise while Choza had just heavily dropped on his bum. Inoichi was still standing but bent over and bracing himself against his knees.

"Good work," Sakumo offered with an apologetic smile. "You were a bit late with that punch or you'd have had me there, Choza. We'll work on your timing. Your last strategy was shabby at best, Shikaku, and you need to learn to reserve your chakra more. If the fight is to last until sunset, you can't risk losing your energy before that." Shikaku nodded tiredly. He seemed close to passing out. Sakumo glanced at Inoichi. "As for you, Inoichi, you should have sensed that the person you were fighting was just a clone. Leaving yourself defenceless in battle could be the end of you and your team. Also, you should really stay out of close combat. It's not your strength, and at one point, Choza almost crushed you along with me." Inoichi stared at him for a moment, then he just nodded. "And why didn't you point out the flaw's in Shikaku's plan?"

"It wasn't like I had a better idea" admitted Inoichi. "I mean we had already tried everything else, so ..." He shrugged.

Sakumo could only nod at that. Of course, it made sense. "Alright." He looked at all three of them. "Get home, eat something, get some rest. We'll meet tomorrow at 7 in front of the Hokage tower."

With that he vanished again leaving his students blinking at empty air once more.

That day, Sakumo realized, at least he had learned that he was able to fight with his left. He was nowhere close to full power, but he thought he was still a match for every average Jonin and could probably deal with every Chunin he knew.


	22. A Sensei's Dedication

**A Sensei's Dedication**

Somehow, he had forgotten how tedious and annoying proper D-Rank missions were. He wouldn't say boring, because it really wasn't boring. Not with Choza and his cheerful self around. Also, because the missions hardly took long enough to become boring, or they involved too much hard work. Cleaning the park or babysitting children for an entire day was certainly all kinds of annoying … but not boring. Even the odd war-related mission that mostly involved carrying documents from one place to another was not really boring, though it could become a bit tiresome.

Even Choza started complaining after about three weeks of those missions. 'When will we get an actual mission?' 'I think, I know all kinds of ways to find a cat, now.' 'Senseeeei! Please, I want a better mission.'

When Choza got annoyed he decided it was high time to ask the Hokage for a C-Rank. The other two had been complaining long before that, but Choza was patient and not easily annoyed. So, it really was time for some action. Also, he felt his own skill deteriorating. He'd finally been allowed to take up training again last week and his right arm was so out of shape it wasn't even funny. He needed something to do, other than buying groceries for old ladies or taking dogs for a walk. It just felt like he was wasting his time when he could do something useful instead.

Inoichi had been complaining for the last two weeks already. They were shinobi, he said, so why did they make them do such demeaning work. Sakumo was sure, the Yamanaka saw it as personal insult, when he was asked to clean up dog shit. He never complained during missions, of course, all professional and true to the rules. Nor did he ever refuse to do anything, because for a shinobi, the mission was most important. But he complained in between missions and during training, or especially when Choza made Sakumo invite them to some restaurant or another once a week – Sakumo being the only one for now with the salary to do so.

Shikaku complained as well, though Sakumo wasn't sure whether it had anything to do with their mission rank or difficulty. Sakumo was quite sure he'd have the same complaints about an S-rank mission that he had about D-ranks. And really, sometimes you just had to respect people who were just themselves. Shikaku had no problem whatsoever that everybody knew him and saw him to be a lazy kid. No ambition, no effort, nothing. It annoyed Sakumo to no end … but really, at some point, he just had to feel respect for a kid who was so confident in just being himself. He'd still have to get the kid to do more, though. Whether he liked Shikaku and his antics or not, the boy was wasting his potential. If he just had some of Inoichi's dedication … everything would be so much easier.

As it was, he sometimes wondered how those two could be best friends. They had nothing in common. But that was what they were. Best friends. It was also what the data sheets about them had suggested. Choza was part of that clique but not quite as close to either of them. He made up for it by being just like his mother: loud and talkative and somewhat of the centre of attention for everybody, especially when he was bickering around with Inoichi. And he was really close to Shikaku, too. But at the end of the day – that much was obvious in training, whenever they got more serious – Shikaku and Inoichi were a match made in heaven. They understood each other, trusted each other and followed each other's command without further explanation needed between them. At first, he'd thought that Inoichi was jealous of Shikaku's leadership role, but though he didn't fully understand that deep frown whenever Shikaku took over command quite yet, he didn't think it had anything to do with jealousy, anymore.

Sometimes, he wondered how Choza felt with two teammates who were so close to each other. Whether he felt left out. It didn't seem like it, and the other two tried to include him as best as they could. But it was still so obvious. Inoichi extended his name-calling to Shikaku too, calling him 'sloth' or 'lazy-bum' or 'useless' or more generic insults, but when he did it, it was obvious he didn't mean them. With Choza, Sakumo wasn't quite as sure and the way Choza would react flustered or defensive or indignant Sakumo was sure he felt insulted or even hurt while Shikaku would just wave Inoichi's insults away. It was also obvious in how Shikaku would sometimes have to explain a plan of attack to Choza, while Inoichi already jumped into action without having to ask because he understood Shikaku on a level that he didn't even need to know the plan.

Lastly, it was most obvious in how if they had a question or a problem or where bothered by something, they'd always first refer to each other before asking Choza. They'd first turn to each other when there was trouble and first look at each other to check whether the other was fine. Sakumo didn't think they realized it, he didn't even know whether Choza realized it, but to him it was obvious.

Sakumo blamed Inoichi, mostly. Shikaku wasn't any better, and really it wasn't that bad at all, but Inoichi was the one doing the insulting. He even insulted Sakumo sometimes, though he normally tried to show respect. Honestly, Sakumo also thought, Choza was a bit too sensitive for a shinobi, but there was really nothing to do about that, but let him grow a thicker skin and make him build up some self-confidence. He didn't really know how to go about that, but he thought training the boy to become stronger was a first step. And that was his job as Sensei, anyway.

Their first C-Rank was a bit awkward really. They got a security job for a civilian festivity … that turned out to be a gigantic party with an abundance of alcohol and an utter lack of restrictions or public moral. By the end of the night people were stumbling in and out almost naked, youths were making out in the corners and they had their hands full with drunken rowdies, a bunch of persistent drug dealers and a few prostitutes and really nothing at this party was G-rated. His team was 11 years old, and he let them deal with the drunks while he himself took care of the prostitutes and the sexual assaults and over all most of the more perverted stuff, but still, by the end of the night Shikaku looked somewhat flustered, Choza was as red as a beet and Inoichi was looking somewhere between insulted and disgusted.

This time he couldn't find any fault with the Yamanaka. More the opposite, among their team he'd dealt with the situation the best. There had been one incident, when Choza and Shikaku had gone to stop a fighting couple when the mood had started shifting and the couple had suddenly started passionately making out right in front of the boys with the two staring, gaping and incapable of looking anywhere else. Inoichi had led them away with a somewhat sour look on his face, before Sakumo could even get to them.

The next morning, he'd been somewhat angry with the Hokage and he had made himself visit the kids at their homes and talk to their parents. Shikaku and Inoichi were mostly alright. Inoichi just still looked a bit disgusted. Choza was having more trouble unseeing what he had seen, though Sakumo had tried to make it so that he wouldn't see anything too bad. And frankly, he thought somewhat bitterly, that too was something they'd have to be able to deal with as shinobi.

Telling his former boss how he had brought his kid to an adult party where he might or might not have seen disturbing things happening was probably one of the least pleasant things in his life.

The next C-Rank was way better, he decided. It involved running into a group of stray enemy shinobi from the front when they made their way back to the village, but he now knew, he'd prefer enemy shinobi over drunken and unruly civilians any day.

The boys were afraid, though, when they were suddenly assaulted by three Kumo-nin. Sakumo had felt them follow their group before, but he had planned to let his team deal with the danger as best as they could before he would intervene himself. It didn't go as planned as all three almost froze up at first and when they found their wits again and started moving they were in total disarray and acted as if they had forgotten everything they had learned both in the academy and from him.

He dispatched of the attackers eventually and he didn't tell his team that he was proud of their effort because, frankly, he wasn't.

They had to make camp in the woods soon after and apparently the adrenaline had not yet left their system. Shikaku was uncharacteristically fidgeting, Inoichi was moving around and glancing into the darkness of the woods as if expecting another attack, and Choza was shivering and curling up at the fire with a kunai in hand and tensing every time he heard an unexpected noise.

"Calm down, guys," he said understanding their situation because he'd been like them not too long ago, but also very much annoyed. Inoichi threw him a simultaneously angry and worried look. "Nobody's going to hurt you. I promise."

"H… How would you know?" stuttered Choza.

"I won't let them. I'll stay awake tonight, and should anybody attack, I'll just dispatch of them like the other three, alright?" He had planned to take up guard duty tonight, anyway. He'd let the other three take up guard every now and then during the last three days of their mission, but even then, he hadn't really slept. With enemies potentially roaming around, he had remained as vigilant as he possibly could. He was getting a bit tired, but they'd arrive back in Konoha tomorrow, and then he could sleep as long as he wanted to.

He hadn't really expected his words of assurance to have much of an effect, but Choza suddenly calmed and half an hour later he and Shikaku had fallen asleep finally. Inoichi glanced at him knowingly, though Sakumo didn't know what it was Inoichi thought he knew. Inoichi didn't fall asleep for another hour or so, but then exhaustion caught up to him too, leaving Sakumo alone guarding the night.

He flexed the fingers of his right hand a bit testily and swung the sword in a few strikes that just a few months ago had felt natural and fluent and that now only felt awkward, until sun rose, and his charges slowly woke up.

"Break camp," he commanded still engrossed in his Kata. "We'll head out again after breakfast."

When he ended his little exercise and went back to the boys he could just shake his head and grin at the odour of soup in the air.

"Sorry" said the Akimichi with a giant cooking spoon in his hand. "We didn't have time to hunt yesterday and our dried meat is all gone, so it's no meat today."

"No wonder," muttered Inoichi reaching for his plate, "you eat so much of that during the day, it's a miracle it even lasted as long as it did."

Choza was hitting Inoichi in the back with the spoon, though it wasn't very hard. Still, he deserved it, Sakumo thought.

"So, it's just some vegetables and stuff" the Akimichi ended his explanation with an apologetic smile handing Sakumo a bowl with the watery contents.

"No reason to apologize," said Sakumo. "I had already signed up to living from food pills and dried rations for the entire week. It's a luxury really. So, Thank you."

The Akimichi grinned red around the ears. It had been a bit of a surprise when Choza had revealed the contents of his bags to entail a cooking set, the giant spoon, some basic ingredients and spices. He had wondered what the boy had deemed necessary to carry along that his bags were three times as big as those of the rest of the team. He should have guessed it, really. Sakumo didn't really know, whether it was a blessing or a hindrance. He very much enjoyed the actual food during the mission, but he also feared in a fight, the extra weight might be hindering. In the end he enjoyed the cooked food enough to not mention his doubts to the boy, and he really thought it could be a good thing, too. Aside from the added comfort it was also good for team building, bettered the mood and not least of all it made Choza agreeable. As much as Sakumo grew to love the kid, he did get moody when he was hungry or when the food was bad, and a moody Choza on a mission could be a lot more dangerous than a Choza with some added luggage.

They ate quietly until Choza piped up again. "Thanks for yesterday. I was really freaked out and all."

Sakumo shrugged. "It's understandable, I think. But you'll have to learn to use your training in an actual battle and not freeze up completely. I was actually a bit disappointed," admitted Sakumo speaking to all three of them. At least they had the decency to look embarrassed.

"Yeah … hm," the Akimichi laughed a bit nervously. "I didn't really mean the fighting to be honest." Sakumo raised a questioning eyebrow. "I meant what you said. About not letting anybody hurt us." He looked at Inoichi and Shikaku for support. Inoichi just shrugged, Shikaku nodded silent agreement. "It really helped."

"Ah," made Sakumo a bit dumbfoundedly not really knowing what else to say.

"To know that you wouldn't … well … let us die." Choza looked a bit forlornly obviously hoping for one of his friends to take over conversation so he could stop without the awkward silence.

"You know, he didn't really mean it, right?" Inoichi suddenly said making Sakumo frown and Choza gaping confused.

"Well, Sensei wouldn't lie," he said with a conviction that made Sakumo all warm and fuzzy.

"No …," Inoichi hesitated as everybody including Shikaku looked at him as if they didn't know what he was talking about. "He can't really promise. I mean, let aside the possibility of an enemy being even stronger than Sensei there might still be situation where he just can't look out for us."

Shikaku and Choza both nodded in understanding. "Yeah, right. That's why we have to get stronger," said Choza. "So that we can fight even if the odds are against us, right?"

"Sure," muttered Inoichi, but apparently that hadn't been what he was thinking about. "But I actually thought about a situation where ... I don't know. Sometimes it's not just about skill and power but … I've heard of these situations. Sometimes there's just no winning."

He looked a bit pale and Choza looked disturbed and even Shikaku didn't look all that lazy anymore. Inoichi glanced around the others gathered around him. "I just mean as a shinobi, you should know such a thing can't really be promised," he muttered silently, almost impossible to hear.

There was a heavy silence between them.

"I meant it though," Sakumo said finally making all three stare at him. "I won't let my comrades die. Of course, you're right. Sometimes the situation might just be so bad, that there's no choice. So, I'm sorry, if I put you in some false security. But if there is a choice, I promise I won't let any of my comrades die."

It was an easy promise to make, really. He'd made it to himself already so many times.

"What about the mission? The rules," insisted Inoichi and Sakumo was already annoyed at the boy for being so much like Yashiro, for being so different to himself.

He still didn't know how to handle the kid … It wasn't like he personally disliked him, he reminded himself of that repeatedly, it was just that he didn't know how he was supposed to teach a boy who had so fundamentally different ideas and morals. He wasn't a bad kid … or even a bad shinobi. No, truly, between the three, Inoichi probably was the best. Shikaku was a genius but too lazy. Choza was hard working but too sensitive and not quite strong enough, yet. But Inoichi … if he didn't make himself search for his failures, he wouldn't see any. Not in his work, at least. Of course, he was still a Genin and still learning and still relatively weak compared to most people Sakumo was used to train with during the last years. But that would all change with age and experience if he ever got the chance to grow old enough. But still … Sakumo wasn't really sure how it had happened, but somehow to him Inoichi represented a sort of shinobi that was different to himself, that had fundamentally different believes and priorities and ideas. The type of shinobi that was like Danzo, who'd leave his teammates behind for a mission, or like Yashiro … all rules and loyalties and pragmatics.

He'd been able to work with Yashiro back in the day, when he was still learning how to lead. They were even friends, still. Those issues he had with Yashiro, they had never made him dislike him or been unable to work with him. He'd just taken Yashiro's criticism as constructive input and they had worked together all the better for it. They'd been a good team, after all. So, he wondered why he couldn't just do the same with Inoichi and just roll with it. Did he actually fear that one day, Inoichi might leave Shikaku or Choza behind? Was that it?

"I'd rather fail a mission than lose a comrade," said Sakumo with enough conviction that it almost sounded aggressive.

Inoichi gulped at him, the other two stared as well. "I don't … What if the village is in danger?" Inoichi apparently tried to insist on his idea that this was impossible.

"That would be regrettable. But it doesn't change my conviction," said Sakumo.

"But it would be treason," blurted Inoichi wide eyed and … was that anger or wonderment?

"It's only treason if I betrayed the village. To me, protecting my comrades is what it means to stay true to the village."

"I don't understand," admitted the Yamanaka a bit defensively.

"Have you ever heard of the Will of Fire?" There was a nod from all of them, but it was somewhat hesitant as if they didn't really know its meaning. Well, maybe they didn't. Maybe nobody did. Maybe they all just interpreted it the way they thought suitable for their means. It didn't really matter, to him it had always ever had just one meaning. "In Konoha, we're like family, that's what it says. It's the belief the first Hokage built this village on and that his brother and now the third carry on. Would you let your father or your mother or your siblings die, if you could do anything to protect them?" He looked at Inoichi, but he was really talking to all of them by now.

"Of course not," that was Choza with loud conviction. Shikaku and Inoichi also nodded after a moment.

"But on the battlefield even our families are soldiers, right?" Inoichi kept arguing. "They stop being family and start being soldiers. So, if they …"

"That's not what it says," said Sakumo when he realized Inoichi didn't know how to end his sentence. "It means we're family. A village built by shinobi, for shinobi, training shinobi … and that is the belief the Hokage founded this village on. It would lose his entire meaning, if on the battlefield it would suddenly lose validity. Because, when if not in battle, does it even have meaning?" Inoichi still gaped disbelieving while Choza silently nodded in agreement and Shikaku looked a bit thoughtful but otherwise unbothered. "It's what I believe in. The Will of Fire is what makes Konoha so special. I also think, it's what makes this village worth protecting. Because ideally – that was the idea it was built upon – we all care for each other."

"But if it's a friend or the entire village."

"It's a difficult decision to make. And I don't demand that you make the same. But it's what I believe in. To me, protecting my comrades is the same thing as protecting the village. I can protect its people, or its houses or its leaders … or I can protect the idea it was built on … its heart, so to speak. A village that doesn't care for its shinobi, doesn't even try to save them if it can, is not the village I love nor the village that deserves my protection. It's as easy as that." He groaned a bit tiredly, because he hadn't slept, and this was a delicate topic that was very close to his heart. "Of course, there are situations, when there really is no choice, when you have to decide between one comrade or another or where your friends just die and there's nothing you can do … or yes, a situation where you have to weigh lives against each other. If the village was facing imminent destruction and I had to make a split decision … But if it's just about taking risks, not about imminent destruction, if the village's survival still had a fighting chance … I wouldn't forgive myself, if I wouldn't at least try to save my comrades."

"It would be treason," Inoichi spoke matter-of-factly, but there was a glint in his eyes that made Sakumo a bit uncomfortable.

"Maybe … Maybe, they'd brand me a traitor. But it's my way of staying true to the village. But I'd feel the other way. If I'd let my comrades die, I'd feel like I had betrayed Konoha. Because I'd have effectively killed what makes the village what it is."

"What if the comrade wanted to sacrifice his life for the village?"

It seems there was no convincing Inoichi. Well, convincing wasn't even what Sakumo as trying to do. He was just trying to make him understand. In the end, Sakumo didn't really think he could make Inoichi believe what he believed in, even if he wanted to. He was just too different.

"If it truly is their wish to die for the village … then I guess, I'd have to accept that. But mostly, shinobi in war are ready to lay down their life for their village or their mission or their comrades … but they are not doing so willingly. They'll fight and cling to life and anybody who fights on for the village deserves to be protected by the village."

Inoichi was finally quiet at that and Sakumo did feel a bit smug that he had maybe made him understand. He looked at Choza who made to collect the bowls and plates and wash dishes. That was another reason why the whole cooking thing was a bit inconvenient on missions. It took more time.

Shikaku looked at Inoichi for a moment, then the two started collecting some of the stuff lying around their camp not yet packed in bags to make ready for the final day of their journey.

It was the first mission outside of village boundaries. Sakumo would have to write their fight with the Kumo-nin in a report and he'd probably be asked to give more details, too, as anything connected to the war effort had high priority and importance. The Hokage would learn about his team freezing in the face of the enemy. Maybe it would make him put off his plans to send them out to fight in spring. There were only a bit over four months left and they still needed to learn so much. He doubted he'd get them ready in time. And he had grown fond of them, fond of being a sensei. He remembered Kagami telling him, how his students were his legacy. If they joined the war in March and if they wouldn't survive the year … that would be some screwed up legacy.

Also, he started wondering whether Kagami would be happy with him. If he was Kagami's legacy – him and Akane and Yashiro and of course his son – would he be happy with that? Or was he disappointed with Sakumo? Ashamed maybe, though Sakumo couldn't quite point out why he would be. Kagami had just been so huge. Greater than life, really. He'd prevented a war and died for that. How could anybody live up to that legacy? He thought about Choza … The boy clearly admired him. He didn't think the other two did. Inoichi surely didn't. And Shikaku … well, it was difficult to know what he thought about anything. But Choza did worship him. He wondered, whether he'd someday think the same about him, whether it was just natural to think so highly of your Sensei. To admire them still, even when you should be old and experienced enough to have stepped out of their shadow already.

They headed out almost an hour later and they arrived at the Konoha main gate around noon.

He reported back to the Hokage, then he sent his team away as he had to write a lengthy report. When he looked up though, he was a bit surprised to see that Inoichi had stayed behind.

"What is it?" he asked after a moment checking that the other two had left and they were indeed alone. That was odd, he thought.

The Yamanaka looked a bit nervous and giddy, not at all like the kid he had gotten to know.

"It's just," he started nervously. "I was wondering …" He looked at Sakumo who nodded in encouragement curious what the boy had to say. "I was wondering whether what you said applied to me as well." Sakumo raised a questioning eyebrow. "This morning. The thing about not letting your comrades die."

At that Sakumo gaped. "I …" But he didn't really know what to say to that, so he started again. "Why wouldn't it apply to you?"

Inoichi hesitated. "I don't know … It's just that I have the feeling you don't like me very much, you know?"

And suddenly, Sakumo knew, he had failed as a teacher.

Maybe there was something on his face, he was probably scowling at himself, but Inoichi suddenly backpedalled a bit. "I mean, I don't really mind or anything. It helps me to get better, if you tell me what I do wrong. But when you said that, I just started wondering …" He seemed about to add something like 'never mind' or 'whatever it was stupid anyway', so Sakumo interrupted before he could. Because Sakumo very much minded.

"It does." He spoke quietly angry at himself. "It does apply to you, too. Of course, it does." He felt like a mule saying the same thing three times, but he was just so … shocked. "I'm sorry, if I made you think that way," he added. He hesitated a moment, then decided to leave it at that because any explanation he could offer, he feared, would only make it worse. "I'm sorry, if I've treated you unfairly."

"No, no, it's not like that." Inoichi said at once. "As I said, it helps me. I'm not some delicate flower, or anything."

Sakumo smiled remembering how the boy liked flowers. And really liking flowers that was so not like Danzo or Yashiro or … anybody really … anybody he knew, at least. It was such a mundane, almost civilian thing … or … or something for samurai to worry about, maybe. He couldn't believe how he had just lumped the kid together with a group of people and judged him based on some stupid comparison with his old team. He'd compared him to Yashiro, because sure, there probably were some similarities, and then he had just started disliking the boy based on that. As much as he tried to tell himself, that it hadn't been like that, that he hadn't actually disliked him, it didn't make it true. Worse even, he had treated the kid accordingly and the kid had of course seen it and … really could he have failed any more abysmally as a teacher than to judge and mistreat his student based on the first impression he had of him and some stupid comparison? Worse still, now that he had made up his mind, he realized he couldn't just change it.

"You're a good shinobi," he said suddenly because it needed to be said and it was true, and he felt all the worse for it. Because he could have said 'You're a good kid', or even 'You're a good man.' But he had chosen the word 'shinobi' and a shinobi essentially was a tool for war. Good morals or character or personality or ethics had nothing to do with it. To be a good tool you just needed to be willing to kill and be killed for your mission. Sure, Inoichi wasn't quite there, yet, but he would be eventually. He was a good shinobi, an extraordinarily good shinobi, really. But he had never doubted that. He had doubted that Inoichi could also be a good person, more than just a rule-oriented soon-to-be killing-machine. And maybe he still doubted that, because why else had he chosen to say what he had said.

It didn't make it any better when Inoichi suddenly perked up a bit and smiled and Sakumo suddenly realized that the boy had never smiled at him. Sure, he'd seen him laugh and joke and grin … but it wasn't directed at him. Sometimes, Inoichi would grin at him, a defiant or slightly amused smirk on his lips … but he hadn't actually laughed or smiled because Sakumo hadn't given him any reason to.

"I do my best," the Yamanaka grinned. "It's hard to keep up with Shikaku, though." He shrugged half-heatedly.

"You're better than him." Sakumo heard himself say. "Don't tell him I said that, but you're the better shinobi." There was a doubtful frown on the blonde's face, so Sakumo added "Believe me."

"It's just because he's so lazy," Inoichi answered after a while.

"Probably," agreed Sakumo. He looked down at the report he still had to write, and he was really getting tired, too, since he hadn't really slept for four days and not at all last night. "Anyway, I still have to write the report," said the Hatake when Inoichi didn't say anything else for a while. "Thank you for telling me."

Inoichi seemed a bit confused. Then he scratched his head and grinned a bit sheepishly. "Yeah, right. I'll leave you to it, then, Sensei. See you tomorrow."

With that, he left. Sakumo looked down at the empty scroll and the bottle of ink. He thought back about his time with Kagami-Sensei. How had he done it? How had he not played any favourites? Or maybe he had, and Sakumo just didn't remember it. Anyway, he surely hadn't failed as badly as Sakumo had in this regard. It had been the first thing he'd done after getting his team. He had decided that he liked Choza and that he disliked Inoichi and then he had hardly ever thought twice about it. Part of him just wished he could leave it all behind give his team to a more capable sensei and go back to the battlefield to fight their enemies. It was so much easier when he worked with full-fledged shinobi who, yes, were his subordinates following his leadership, but who didn't so utterly depend on him, who didn't need him for protection or guidance or council or praise or critique or encouragement or teaching. He had no clue about any of that.

When he finally got a day of free time by the end of that week, he went to the Academy and visited the Chunin teacher he had spied on more than two years ago. He didn't know the first thing about being a teacher … but he knew people who did. Him, the Chunin teacher and Izumi who was still teaching advanced courses in the Academy went out for lunch that day and after that Sakumo knew he knew even less about teaching than he had thought. It was a first step though … and really, he didn't need to be a sublime teacher, his students were not – how had Inoichi put it? – delicate flowers. They were shinobi in their own right, albeit weak and inexperienced ones. They were still kids, though, so the least he could do was try and be the best teacher he could be.


	23. Alliance

**Alliance**

In December his old friend, the Daimyo of Yu died. Official reports said it was a bad sickness, but inofficially there were rumors of poison. The timing was just too bad, and the sickness hit too fast. But there was no proof, anyway.

His son was now twelve years old and ruler of his country. If a child leader was not enough cause for worry they were also still in war and Yugakure was one of their most important – if not to say only allies. There most important ally during the war was of course Uzushiogakure but Yugakure came in as a close second. As long as none of the great nations allied with each other with those two allies Konoha was doing quite well so far. Losing Yu, however, would be a harsh blow.

Somehow, the Hokage remembered that Sakumo had had a good relationship with the old Daimyo and his children. Sakumo himself didn't know how much the new ruler of Yu no Kuni even remembered the Hatake or his visit in Konoha at all. But the Hokage apparently thought he'd still remember, so he sent a delegation including Sakumo and his team to Yugakure to make sure Yugakure would stay on their side of the war.

It was the closest Sakumo's team would get to the northern front, yet. With the beginnin of the harsh northern winter, the two armies had settled just south of the border between the Land of Hot Water and the Land of Frost. Yugakure was just half a day's march south to the frontline trenches.

They arrived in Yugakure a week before New Year, where they were invited to feast with the young Daimyo.

It turned out, the boy did in fact still remember him. But Sakumo wouldn't have recognized him, nor his sister if he hadn't known who they were. They'd grown so much. And there was something in their eyes, on their faces that proved to him, that they knew the political situation they faced and were not the naïve children anymore, that he had met just a few years back when Sakumo had guarded them during the tenth Chunin Exams.

"Sakumo-san, it's so great to see you again," the eleven-year-old daughter … no, sister of the Daimyo greeted when she met him, his team and two other Konoha delegates in the park-like gardens of the Daimyo's palace. "Though it's a shame it has to be under such circumstances."

Sakumo bowed respectfully in front of the girl and offered his sincere condolences, before they were let into the palace. His three students bowed as well with varying degrees of dignity: Inoichi very formal and respectfully, Shikaku a bit leisurely, Choza with a slight stumble and an embarrassed smile.

"My messengers have already told me, you brought your students, Sakumo-san," said the Daimyo when he took in the boys behind Sakumo that were about his age. "I'm pleased to meet you."

There was still a bit child in him, Sakumo thought as he registered the curious glances in the direction of his students.

Both Choza and Shikaku seemed a bit put off how to speak to a foreign dignitary that was just as young as themselves. It was quite clear that Choza was about to treat the Daimyo like just another kid. Maybe he'd ask him to play tag or talk about his favourite food. Shikaku was a bit embarrassed and apparently unsecure what to say. Both seemed quite tankful, when Inoichi answered with his very own inherent dignity and took over the lead.

"It's an honour to make your acquaintance, Daimyo-sama. My condolences for your loss."

Shikaku and Choza nodded in agreement and muttered their own condolences.

Sakumo let the five kids acquaint themselves, while he and the other two Konoha delegates acquainted themselves with the Daimyo's prime councillors.

He thought they'd immediately start talking politics. Or rather the councillors and the delegates would start talking about their alliance. His presence here only served to showcase the friendship between a high ranking Konoha jonin and the leadership of Yu no Kuni. It wasn't like he wanted to play a big part in negotiating an ongoing alliance himself. He was pretty sure most of the people present agreed with him in that regard. So, he had just thought he'd sit there and listen in on their negotiations and maybe remember some old times with the Daimyo, his mother and his sister.

It didn't work quite like that, as hey didn't even start talking about the specific of their alliance or really anything war-related for the entire evening. It was an all in all enjoyable evening though it felt a bit like wasting time. Inoichi, Shikaku, the Daimyo and his sister seemed to agree with him as all four of them listened in on the adult's conversations for a while before rolling their eyes and going back to behaving like children befriending each other – when in fact they weren't exactly the cute little children their age suggested, anymore.

Sakumo was a bit amused to listen in on the five kids. Inoichi was fast befriending the Daimyo, who looked a bit flustered to meet a kid his age who knew just how to behave correctly without distancing himself or giving the Daimyo the feeling of being some delicate being. Choza tried to get in on their conversation but seemed a bit lost between the other kid's etiquette and mannerisms. Shikaku – apparently not by choice because he looked a bit helpless – found himself conversing with the daimyo's sister. Or rather, she talked and he just looked pleadingly from her to Sakumo as if to ask Sakumo to intervene on his behalf and free him, but Sakumo enjoyed himself entirely too much. It was so obvious that Shikaku for all his smarts didn't know the first thing about how to talk with girls. Though, the same time he didn't look all that averse to her talking to him at all. It was just that he obviously didn't know how to talk back.

"So, how was your trip here?" she asked at some point.

Shikaku just scratched his head, blushed and grumbled a "hm? Yeah, it was alright. Cold, I guess."

She frowned, a bit dissatisfied with his answer. "Did you meet any enemies? We hear stories of Kumo-nin from the front roaming the area … A few of them manage to break through every now and then."

"Er…" Shikaku looked a bit helplessly to Choza, but the Akimichi just grinned back at him oblivious to his friend plight. "Yeah … eh, I mean, no. There was nobody."

"Ah, good." She managed after a while. Now, she too looked a bit helpless how to keep the conversation going. "I mean that you weren't attacked and … you know?"

Sakumo had to stifle a laughter. When she had first greeted them, he'd been impressed by how eloquent she'd spoken for an eleven-year-old. Now, she seemed just as clueless as Shikaku how to hold a decent conversation.

They struggled a bit more, before both Inoichi and the Daimyo became aware of the awkward quiet between the two, and naturally shifted conversation partners. Shikaku obviously felt a lot more comfortable talking to the Daimyo than he did to his sister.

It was really fascinating, Sakumo thought as he witnessed Shikaku and the Daimyo becoming close friends within minutes talking about shogi. The Nara was almost passionately explaining different moves and why they were or were not commendable.

Suddenly however, the daimyo's sister started laughing loudly, effectively drawing the attention of the entire table to her and Inoichi. Both Inoichi and her immediately apologized and Sakumo didn't know what it had been that had made the girl laugh so openly, but obviously … those two had a certain chemistry.

The way Choza waggled his eyebrows at Inoichi before they went to bed that evening was prove that even he had realized it. And that had to mean something because Choza was a bit deaf regarding these kinds of things.

The relationship between Inoichi and Kimiko, the daimyo's sister, only flourished those next two days.

They'd started talking about the war, about the alliance about the friendship between Konoha and Yugakure but it didn't really go anywhere for quite a while. And while the adults and the Daimyo negotiated, Inoichi and Kimiko grew closer by the hour.

"Who is the boy?" One of the daimyo's councillors asked a bit angrily as they walked past the gardens where the two were sitting on a bench talking about winter roses – as far as Sakumo could tell.

"Yamanaka Inoichi," said Sakumo with a frown, because he was quite sure he'd introduced the boy to everyone present already.

"I know that, of course" grumbled the councillor. She was a stern woman and apparently played a big role in the education of both royal children. "I mean who does he think he is, to treat that carelessly around the princess?"

"Oh, I think it is quite endearing," smiled the daimyo's mother and glanced at the children.

"Be that as it may," the councillor said, "she's the sister of the Lord Daimyo. It would not serve for her to fall for a commoner."

"But they are just children," said the mother a bit annoyed.

Sakumo agreed with her, but he rather kept quiet lest he tread on delicate topics he'd rather keep away from. Both Inoichi and Kimiko were only eleven years old, even if they might come to feel more than friendship for each other, as soon as Inoichi went back to Konoha that would probably pass.

"Young, but no children anymore," said the councillor. "If I remember correctly, you yourself have married our late Daimyo-sama with only fourteen years. She's still young, but in five years at best, she'll have to marry, too and then it would not serve for her to love another."

There was a disapproving grumbling sound from Kimiko's mother, but she didn't disagree.

"So, we can't have some commoner steal her heart. Even if he is quite charming."

"He is Yamanaka Inori's son," said Sakumo suddenly, because he really didn't like how they spoke about his student. And Inoichi surely was no normal commoner.

There was a questioning look from both women. One of the Konoha delegates that hat accompanied Sakumo piped up. "Yes, right. Inoichi is the first-born son to Inori, the head of the Yamanaka-Clan. Inoichi is the next in line to lead one of the most powerful and influential clans in Konoha."

Only when the councillor's face turned into a thoughtful frown, did Sakumo understand what the delegate was suggesting. He wanted to interrupt, then, before they'd decided to sell those two kids like kettle for a political alliance, but the second delegate gave him a warning look, so he kept quiet. Instead he looked at the two kids. They seemed to enjoy each other at least … So, maybe it would work out and both would be happy with an arranged marriage between the two.

"That could work out," said the councillor. "I've heard of the Yamanka-Clan. It's not quite what we had in mind for her – to sell her to one of those violent shinobi-clans," there was open spite in her words – he had already heard rumours that the royal and noble families didn't quite see the noble shinobi-clans on par with themselves, but this was the first time he actually witnessed such behaviour. He wondered what she thought about his own miniscule clan. The Hatake Clan, hardly worth mentioning as a 'Clan' anymore – reduced to three members, one of them by marriage not by blood. He tried not to think too hard about it … Clan-pride was always a reason for conflict in Konoha. Noble clans looked down on the other clans who in turn looked down on the civilian families and everyone looked down on those with no family at all … And now apparently noble civilian clans looked down on all of them … it was just ridiculous.

"Of course, we'll have to send a message to Konoha to ask for his father's approval," one of the delegates said.

And with that it was decided. They sent a message to Konoha to ask the head of the Yamanaka-Clan to accept a betrothal between Inoichi and Kimiko and regarding the political situation and the war Inori wouldn't have much of a choice than to accept. Then with that they'd solidify the alliance between the Land of Fire and the Land of Hot Springs. And of course, he'd have to explain the situation to Inoichi.

Or … not.

"I know," he just said before Sakumo could even say something. "I heard some of the conversation. It wasn't that hard to put together the rest of it. I think, my father will accept, too."

"I don't think he'll have much of a choice," said Sakumo, then he looked at his student. "How do you feel about this?"

"I'm fine with it," he said at once, then he elaborated as Sakumo raised an eyebrow. "Really. She's a nice girl. And we won't have to marry right away. So, we'll have time to get to know each other. If it's necessary for the alliance …," he shrugged. "And I like her … I mean, I don't love her, but …"

Apparently, he didn't know how to end his sentence. And what was there to say? So, he just nodded, and he couldn't help but admire the blond boy who was so easily willing to sacrifice his freedom to one day choose his own wife for Konoha.

He affectionately ruffled the wild blond hair of the boy. Still, sometimes he had problems dealing with Inoichi and treating him fairly, despite knowing how stupid it was. But today, he just admired the kid.

They had to wait for four more days until message arrived from Konoha. New Year they were invited to a great banquet in the Daimyo's palace and visited some of the Yugakure training grounds where they socialized with some Yu-shinobi.

This time, his team gave him every reason to be proud of them as they participated in a team training exercise with nine Yu-genin and showed off some rather ingenious teamplay. In the evening he trained them in taijutsu. Over all, the day wasn't very festive. Nobody was really looking forward to this new year. It was expected to be a year of war with little hope that the conflict might end anytime soon.

Inori's acceptance letter of the betrothal was written in polite words but there was a certain amount of reluctance discernible between the lines. Once again Sakumo didn't look forward to explaining this to Inori once they got back home.

The Alliance was confirmed and strengthened with another contract that the delegates and the Daimyo signed that very day. There was another feast to celebrate both the betrothal and the alliance. Shikaku was making a few rude jokes at Inoichi's expense, until Kimiko gave him a lecture leaving Shikaku flustered and quiet and Inoichi and Choza thoroughly amused.

The next morning, they departed back to Konoha at sunrise.

What was supposed to be a quiet journey back to Konoha soon went south, when they crossed the border to the Land of Fire and found a Yugakure border post destroyed and the shinobi injured or dead. They sent a bird asking for reinforcements to Yugakure and questioned the survivors.

A sizeable group of enemies – they didn't know from where, but they didn't think it were Kumo-nin, as their advances were supposedly halted far to the north – had attacked just three days ago and intruded on the Land of Fire.


	24. Invasion: An Emergency A-Rank Mission

This is just a small set-up chapter to start the next bigger part of this story. I know it's a bit short but I hope it's okay ^^ **Invasion:**

 **An Emergency A-Rank Mission**

The Patrol post had one of those wide range chakra-communication devices, the Yamanaka-Clan had invented for wide-scale battlefield communication.

"Inoichi can use those," said Shikaku pointing at the machine.

Sakumo hadn't even known that. He just stared at both Shikaku and Inoichi, then he nodded. "Good. Try to contact Konoha."

Inoichi nodded and put on the helmet like construction that would obscure half his face. There was a moment of tense silence in which Inoichi was obviously struggling to find anybody from Konoha. Sakumo started fearing that he was demanding to much from the Yamanaka, who had obviously never tried to communicate over such long distances. Soon, he was sweating profusely and breathing heavily.

"I have contact," he suddenly perked up.

Sakumo ran up to him at once. "Relay my message: This is Hatake Sakumo. Rank: Jonin. Ninja Registration: 002352. Contacting the Hokage or other authority with security clearance."

There was a short break while Inoichi relayed the message. He was panting more heavily by now and Sakumo understood he had to make this fast.

Then, "I have contact to my father." He made a face then he almost looked apologetically. "Sorry, Sensei. I don't think I can hold out until they get the Hokage to the Intelligence Division."

"That will do. No worries," reassured Sakumo quickly. "Inori-san? We have come upon a destroyed border post from Yugakure. They were attacked by an unknown enemy. Roughly 50 attackers. They have intruded the Land of Fire."

Again, there was a short break. Then: "You're at the border already? We've got message from a Konoha Border Patrol just a few hours back and sent reinforcements to your position already." Inoichi relayed his father's words. "But they won't arrive at your position for another two days. We think they are en route to Uzushiogakure." Sakumo gritted his teeth as he heard that. Uzushiogakure … Suddenly, Inoichi spoke again: "Mission: A-Rank. Mission leader: Hatake Sakumo. Participants: Nara Shikaku, Akimichi Choza, Yamanaka Inoichi. Assigned by Yamanaka Inori evoking emergency protocol. Mission Objective: Track invading army, confirm enemy target. Do not engage unless strictly necessary. Priority objective: Kushina Uzumaki."

Sakumo's skin tingled with sudden fright. The Kyuubi's Jinchuriki, he knew at once. She was currently with her family in Uzushiogakure and barely more than a child incapable of defending herself or using the Kyuubi's strength. There was hardly a better time for the enemy to get their hands on the Nine-Tails.

"Understood." Sakumo muttered automatically.

Shortly after that Inoichi slumped a bit as the connection broke. He took off the helmet and looked at Sakumo with wide and frightened eyes. Sakumo turned back to the other two boys who looked just as afraid. Even Shikaku who tried to hide his fear against a mask of nonchalance looked a bit sickly. Of course, the last time they'd encountered an enemy they had frozen up and forgotten everything he'd taught them. Maybe Inori had forgotten that … or he had a lot more confidence in this generation of Ino-Shika-Cho than they had themselves.

Sakumo coughed purposefully. "Don't look like that. He said: 'don't engage'. Don't worry." Was he trying to calm himself? This was just bad. Supposedly, they didn't even know how bad. He doubted the boys knew who Kushina Uzumaki was. Or the Kyuubi for that matter. The identity of the Kyuubi's vessel was information with Jonin level security clearance. Their parents of course all knew, but they wouldn't be allowed to tell them.

He glanced at the two Konoha delegates with them.

"We'll wait here until the shinobi from Yugakure arrive, then we get the contract to the Hokage," one of them said and put a hand on his pouch where the alliance contract was hidden. Sakumo nodded. Then he glanced at Inoichi. The contract would lose its value, if Inoichi died, he couldn't help but think, not that he would let Inoichi die … or any of them, really.

"How do you feel?" he asked Inoichi.

"I can go on. No problem. As long as we don't get into a fight. But travelling should be fine."

Sakumo nodded, then he formed quick handsigns to summon his ninja hounds. "Search the area for enemy scents and tracks," he commanded.

They didn't have to wait long until the hounds returned and led them to where they'd found the enemies' tracks. In fact, they were moving to the east, to Uzushiogakure. Sakumo cursed silently, then he took off into the woods, his young team hot on his heels.

The enemy had a lead of over two days on them. Even if they moved slower than Sakumo's team, because they were more, he doubted they'd arrive at Uzushiogakure in time to make much of a difference. It all depended on how long Uzushiogakure could hold out. Normally he wouldn't have worried. Even 50 opponents wouldn't be able to take down the entire village this quickly, but currently most of Uzushiogakure's capable shinobi were out at the front and unable to defend their village. They had relied on their geographical seclusion to protect them as any opponent to come from the main land would have to pass through the Land of Fire first. If they were to get attacked, it would be due to a failure by Konohagakure to stop intruders on their own lands.

They tracked the enemy until way past sunset before Sakumo called a sudden halt to their advance. "We have to rest," he said a bit angrily at the fact that they needed rest. His three students didn't protest, and he was thankful for that. He didn't fancy explaining to them, that they needed to keep their strength should they meet the enemy, when he himself wanted nothing more than to push on.

The next morning there was no time for Choza to put his cooking skills to use, instead they ate food pills and dry crackers and were back on the road before sun-rise.

They were in fact steadily catching up on the enemy army. Sometime during the second day, he himself was able to make out their lingering smell proving they had been here just a bit over a day ago. They'd made up an entire day … it wasn't enough though.

When they arrived at the coast two days later they came upon a small coastal city in ruins and a burnt harbour. The enemy had apparently taken some of the ships and burned the rest to the ground. The ash was still hot and glowing, but Sakumo was sure that the fire had raged on for hours, so they were still almost a day behind. The civilian city hadn't offered much resistance against the enemies. They found burnt corpses on the path and dozens of homeless civilians lost in the streets and houses trying to salvage what they could. Others were fleeing through the woods or along the coast towards the next major settlement to take them in. It was a pitiful sight, but they couldn't stop to help these peoples. Choza was trying to help an old woman find her lost grandchildren, Inoichi and Shikaku tried to help with some clean-up but he himself couldn't do anything but search for a boat that hadn't been destroyed to take them to the Land of Whirlpools.

After a few hours of search, he found a lone fishing vessel that had seen better days but would serve to get them safely to their destination. They had to wait until the next day due to a coming winter storm, but as soon as sun rose he didn't wait any longer although the waves were still high and rough.

Shikaku got seasick really badly on the small boat. He was puking into the sea and looking overall pathetic and sick. Inoichi didn't look too good either and if he were honest, even Sakumo felt a bit squeezy. The waves were just a bit too wild for his liking.

Still, they made it safely to the coast of the Land of Whirlpools only shortly after noon.

The Land of Whirlpools was a small country of several islands. Uzushiogakure was the biggest settlement on the biggest island. Once Sakumo and his team had landed on the shore they only needed a few short hours, before they caught sight of the village. Even before that – honestly, since the very moment he had set foot on the island – Sakumo had been able to smell the fighting. Under the thick odour of the salty sea and the winter cold there was a lingering scent of blood and fire. They found the first bodies of some fisher folk at the shore and some more dead littered between the trees on their way. Still, nothing could prepare them for the sight of the destroyed and burning village where the fighting was still raging on.


	25. The Battle of Uzushiogakure

**The Battle of Uzushiogakure**

He heard the sounds of fighting early on and ordered his team to stop.

"They are still fighting," knew Shikaku with a frown and a sickly pallor on his face.

"Yes," confirmed Sakumo doing quick handsigns. "Our priority is Uzumaki Kushina. She can't fall into enemy hands." He had explained the basics of who she and the Kyuubi were to his team on the road because they needed to know – no matter their clearance. Slamming his hand on the ground all of his five ninja hounds appeared in a cloud of smoke. He gave them quick orders and they hurried into the woods at once. "Also, we can't just let the enemy attack our allies," he added after a moment. "I have my hounds scout the area, hopefully the Uzumaki managed to evacuate and get the citizens and the children and elderly as well as Kushina out of danger. If that is the case, we will sit this fight out and escort the refugees to Konoha. If they haven't managed to flee …, we'll have to come up with a strategy based on the situation. But I need you to prepare for a potential battle."

All three of them nodded at once. He was surprised by the determination in three young faces. He had expected fear and insecurity. That had been their mood during the last days of tracking the enemies. Now however … they looked pale and shocked, but their jaws were set in fierce determination. Maybe seeing the civilians back in the village and their allies on their way through the forest of the Land of Whirlpools had strengthened their resolve instead of weakening it? He could only hope that determination would last in the eye of the enemy. The last time they had frozen in fright. Back then it hadn't been that catastrophic because Sakumo had been there, and the enemies had been comparatively week and few. Now though …

He made all of them eat food pills because he didn't know, when they'd get the opportunity to eat again. Then, he climbed one of the taller trees to have a look at Uzushiogakure and confirm what his nose already told him.

There were thick clouds of dark smoke and brown dust rising from the village and some broken walls and crumbled buildings. He'd been here once or twice before, and he remembered the proud office building of the Uzushiokage. It had dominated the skyline of this village, now though, he couldn't find it anymore. Every now and then he could see figures racing through the bouts of smoke and dust and feel the tell-tale chakra signatures were jutsus were activated. Sometimes he could see an elemental ninjutsu rise above the destruction and crash down on the village destroying it a bit more. Mostly though, it seemed as if the fighting had already died down and the battling parties were already reduced to some few still fighting individuals getting fewer and fewer by the minute.

Uzushiogakure, he could see that much, had already lost. Through the smoke he could not see nor smell or hear any bigger group of survivors, neither of the attackers nor of the defenders.

He jumped back down from the tree when he saw his ninja hounds returning.

Gareth was a Beagle with brown, white and grey-ish fur. Sakumo's late brother had named him when he was still a pug. It wasn't uncommon for the Hatake-Clan to enter into summoning contracts, and maybe it was a personality thing, but throughout history quite a few of his ancestors had chosen dogs as their summons. They were loyal and trustworthy companions. Maybe that was just something that resonated with the Hatake; most of them were 'dog-people'. Neither his mother nor his father had had any summons if he remembered correctly, but his brother had used them and when he had died, Sakumo had entered into the contract. Now, his brother's old summons were everything he had left of him, Gareth most of all. The dog that had been raised by his brother.

"It's bad" said the dog in a gloomy voice that always somewhat reminded Sakumo of his brother. Though maybe he just imagined that. He hardly even remembered his older brother that had died so many years ago. "They are still fighting but no chance. We've found a group of civilians, some elderly and a few shinobi hiding underground, though."

Sakumo nodded curtly.

"Anything about Kushina Uzumaki?"

"Don't know her scent and they all smell like Uzumaki here." The dog replied.

Sakumo nodded and commanded the other dogs to stay in the vicinity and alert them of any danger. "Lead us to their hiding place" he ordered Gareth.

They ran around half of the destroyed village and avoided a group of enemy shinobi – they were from Iwa he now suspected – before they entered the village at a secluded area.

The walls were still mostly standing and hid their figures from sight, but the stench of smoke and blood was almost unbearable. They found a few dead bodies but overall it seemed as if this area had been mostly spared from the fighting. Still, there was destruction and they didn't find a single living soul for a while. Even though the fighting took place at a different part of the village it was still impossible to ignore.

He cautiously followed Gareth. A dog could maybe blend in nicely – they did see a few stray dogs and cats – but Sakumo would rather avoid being seen himself. His team followed him quietly. Whenever he glanced back, he could see that Choza seemed uncomfortable and both Shikaku and Inoichi seemed a bit unsettled, Inoichi was covering his face with his shirt to avoid the stench, but all three still showed the same determination he had seen on their faces earlier.

They were leaving the protected path between the walls and had to run across an open street. He relied on their speed and the dust to hide them when they hurried across and in fact nobody saw them, nobody attacked, and nobody stopped them on their path. After that it got a bit more difficult because the closer they came to the centre the closer they came to the actual fighting and the more severe destruction. They moved through a city in ruins.

They heard silent whining from one of the few still standing houses and inside they found the first living citizen of Uzushiogakure. Sakumo thought they smelled like Uzumaki, but they didn't have the distinct smell of powerful chakra that any shinobi had. Those were civilians. It was a family of five. A mother, an old man and three kids two of them younger than his team. When Sakumo entered through a smashed living-room window they stared at him with wide fearful eyes, before the elder man's breath hitched in something akin to hope.

"Konoha," he whispered.

"Is Konoha sending rescue forces?" the woman asked hopefully, when Choza entered the room behind Sakumo. The other two of their team and Gareth remained outside watching the street.

Sakumo felt his mouth go dry and he needed a moment to answer. "I'm afraid it's just us," he admitted after a moment.

There was a moment of shock in the mother's eyes and then all hope seemed to drain from the faces of the adults. The young ones didn't really seem to understand what was going on. The youngest, a girl of maybe seven years, looked from Sakumo to her mother to what Sakumo could only assume was her grandfather. "But you're going to help, right?" she asked in a tiny voice. "Konoha is our friend."

"Yeah," Sakumo said. "Reinforcement will come, but they are a bit behind us." The girl smiled, but the adults apparently saw the cruel truth on his face. They wouldn't arrive in time. Sakumo didn't doubt that. The troupes the Hokage had sent would arrive here maybe tomorrow – maybe even later. At that point there wouldn't be anything of Uzushiogakure left to save. They all knew, and the old man's face was hopeless and drawn.

"We've tracked a group of your civilians hidden underground right outside the Uzushiokage's building" informed Sakumo. "We could take you there."

"Going closer to the centre?" The mother sounded a bit aghast. "That would be madness."

"You are without protection here. They have bodyguards there. It might not be enough should they be found, but it's better than nothing" argued Sakumo. At least with shinobi protecting them they wouldn't be killed by a stray ninjutsu.

"We'd rather take our chances here."

Sakumo wanted to argue, but then he just let the topic slide.

"Can we do anything for you?" asked Choza carefully.

There was a moment of silence and when the woman looked at Sakumo he thought he read some resentment in her gaze, that they weren't here to save her or her children, but then she seemed to take a breath and looked at Choza. There was a smile with no joy and a shake of her head and Sakumo silently admired her courage. He also feared it would be a mistake to stay here … But he didn't argue the point because he was almost equally sure that going to where the other people were hidden would be just as bad.

When they went on Choza asked him whether the family had a chance. He didn't answer because he didn't know, and he didn't want to lie.

From afar he hadn't been able to find the Uzushiokage office building. Now, as they got closer, he could make out the shape of its lower floors sticking out of the ground like empty walls and pillars of blackened stone and burned wood. The upper stories were gone or crumbled, and he was sure something had exploded right in the middle of the big building throwing debris all over an already destroyed village.

Gareth let them a bit to the side of the building where they hid behind a wall and waited for two groups of battling shinobi to pass by. They just watched as an Uzumaki managed to kill one of the attackers with a wind scythe before he was taken out himself by an explosive fire jutsu. Then the remaining attackers and shinobis took to the sky and danced over shattered walls and roofs until they were out of sight.

"They are hidden right there." Gareth pointed with his snout in the direction of what looked like a sewer entrance.

Sakumo nodded. He could already smell them, though it was difficult to distinguish anything from the biting scent of smoke, blood and destruction in the air.

He and Inoichi were the first to run across the abandoned plaza to the sewer entrance to hide at its sides. They made sure that neither enemies nor comrades from Uzushiogakure were in sight before he waved Shikaku, Choza and Gareth to follow them and enter the tunnels.

They climbed down a ladder and landed ankle-high in water. It didn't smell quite as disgusting as he imagined reinforcing his initial idea that this was not in fact the sewer system but just made to look like it. It still stank a bit and the smells from the fight lingered even here.

"Down there." Gareth trotted onward.

Sakumo and his team followed. He was on high alert but tried not to look too threatening. He didn't want to be mistaken for an enemy by his own allies.

It only lasted a few minutes in which they were slowly moving forward through the tunnels, before a group of young shinobi suddenly appeared in front of them. He had smelled them coming in advance and he was sure they couldn't be more than chunin. They held a Kunai to his throat and he was aware of more of them holding kunais at Choza's, Inoichi's and Shikaku's throats. Some of them were trembling, though, giving away their youth, inexperience and fright.

He slowly and as non-threatening as he could, raised his hands. "We're from Konoha", he said cautiously and angled his head, so they could see his head band in the sparse light. There was a silent breath of relief, but they didn't lower their weapons quite yet. "We're here to help however we can," he added after a moment.

"We can't take any risks" said the Uzushio-nin in charge. "We'll bring you to the Uzushiokage, but if you make one wrong move …" he left the threat unfinished but judging by the fact that they still didn't lower their kunai Sakumo was sure he could imagine what would happen if they'd appear threatening. He doubted these people could actually kill him, if they tried … but he didn't want to risk it, so he let them escort him to their hiding place with a kunai in his back.

They were ushered down another tunnel before they entered an almost round room, big enough to house hundreds and clearly designed for the purpose of giving refuge in time of an occupation. There were doors leading to what Sakumo could only assume were storage rooms, bathrooms and so on opposite of him and another tunnel leading away from the room back to the surface. It immediately reminded Sakumo of the shelter in Konoha carved into the mountain behind the Hokages' heads, even though the architecture was completely different. It was also a lot smaller of course.

Although designed for surely up to 500 people there were hardly a hundred situated along the walls, on tables and over mattresses. Some were injured and tended to by young medic-nins. Most however were not shinobi, many too young to fend for themselves. He saw a bunch of adult civilians taking care of the children organised in groups of eight or ten. Some were reading stories to the smallest ones who didn't yet understand what was happening, others were trying to console crying children before the fear could spread and bring them all to tears. There were young Genin hardly older than Sakumo's team standing to the sides and guarding the groups and Chunin standing at the entries and exits. Most of the Jonin and Chunin in the village, he assumed, where still out there fighting against the invaders – or they were dead. The rest of course was far away at the front lines and probably oblivious to the peril their home was in. Sakumo tried not to think about that horrific moment when the shinobi would come back from the battlefield to protect their home country only to be informed of the destruction that had befallen this place.

The Jonin leading their group – he thought this might be the only Jonin down here, or maybe one of two. – brought them to a small group of what he assumed were the village elders. Sakumo had already fought a battle or two side by side with Uzushiogakure shinobi, but he had never met their leader so only the white and red cloak that red 'Second Uzushiokage' on the back informed him of the man's rank. He was an old man. Grey and frail and leaning a bit on a walking stick. Sakumo's eyes roamed over the other men and women standing around him. The current Third Uzushiokage was nowhere to be seen and Sakumo couldn't sense anybody with a significant amount of chakra down here, so he assumed the younger leader of Uzushiogakure was fighting at the surface … or already dead or incapacitated – who knew? – While his predecessor took care of the people hiding down here.

The old man looked at Sakumo. His brown eyes shortly settled on his Hitai-Ate of Konoha, but he still seemed a bit distrustful before his eyes found the three kids behind Sakumo. Immediately his distrust was gone. Sakumo assumed, that his students most obvious relation to three of the most well-known clans of Konoha was enough to disperse his fear that they might be enemies dressed as allies.

"Put that away" demanded the Kage with a voice stronger than he looked. The Shinobi who still threatened them with their kunai quickly put the knives away. "No matter our plights we'll treat our allies with dignity. Especially when they come to our aid in our darkest hours."

Sakumo couldn't help but think the man was a bit prone to dramatics. He was most definitely right: This was probably one of Uzushiogakure's darkest moments. But precisely for that reason Sakumo thought it was pretty normal to handle even their allies with a healthy dose of distrust.

"My name is Sakumo Hatake," he started. There was a bit of whispering behind him, so the people around him had already heard about him. "Might we talk in private?" He rather not stand in the middle of the masses when informing these people that Konoha's reinforcements would only arrive in a day or two – at best.

"Of course." There was hardly even a moment of hesitation. "Follow me."

He ordered Shikaku, Inoichi and Choza to make themselves useful however they could before he followed the old man. A middle-aged woman and another old man were joining them in a small bureau with a square table and several chairs and shelves filled with scrolls. A map of the Land of Whirlpools laid already open over one half of the table with several pins and little wooden figures marking landmarks and enemy troupes.

"I guess I'm right to assume, that you and your team are alone?" asked the Uzushiokage after the last to enter closed the door behind them.

Sakumo looked a bit surprised at first. But of course, the Uzumaki were famous for both their seals and their sensor type shinobi. They'd have sensed it in advance, had Konoha sent more reinforcements.

"Right," answered Sakumo. "The Hokage has sent more troupes from Konoha, but they are still far behind. They won't make it here until tomorrow at best."

There was a grave sigh from the second old man that had taken a seat opposite the map. "We won't be able to hold the village for another five hours. Much less the entire day."

There was nothing Sakumo could say to that.

"We've already sent word to our troupes in Yu no Kuni, but they too won't arrive in time" explained the woman staring blankly over the map before turning desperate eyes to the Uzushiokage.

Maybe out there the man had tried to keep himself together. In here, faced with the severity of the situation he seemed to age another decade. "They really caught us unawares" grumbled the Kage.

That much was of course right. Still, the utter hopelessness of the situation didn't sit right with Sakumo. Even with most of their troupes out on the front, Sakumo and his team had tracked an army of only 50 men and he hadn't sensed a single extraordinary chakra signature, yet. So, few shouldn't be able to take apart the entire village of Uzushiogakure within such a short time. Even if they were majorily Jonin or Anbu level they should at least be able to mount some sort of defence.

"What do you know about the enemy so far?", asked Sakumo.

"Two armies from two sides, attacking almost simultaneously." Ah … that explained a lot. "A total of over 100 shinobi, most of them Jonin-level and beyond," explained the woman. "We couldn't make out their leaders so far, nor do we know where exactly they came from."

"Only one of them came through Konoha's mainland. I'm sure of that. We trailed them through half the country," said Sakumo in deep thought. "Judging by their route, I'd reckon they came from Iwagakure. Yu no Kuni is part of our alliance, they would have sent message if there was another army marching through their territory."

"Unless they are Kumo-shinobi slipping through the front line. As far as we're aware of, there are small groups slipping through every now and then. They could have slowly tickled through and only re-assembled at the coast." The old man sitting by the map with a calculating look had a raspy almost hoarse voice.

Sakumo grumbled agreement. "Or they came over the water from the south or the north. Anyway … The best assumption would be that they are either from Kirigakure in the south or Kumogakure in the north."

"Assuming Yugakure remain loyal to the alliance, of course," added the old man with a frown.

There was a disapproving grunt from the only woman in the room. "It doesn't serve to distrust our allies without any suspicion. Not during times like these," she supplied. "If Hatake-san is right, there's a certain risk, that either Kiri or Kumo have allied with Iwa against us."

Sakumo nodded. That precisely had been his fear. If two of the big nations allied against Uzushiogakure it meant they had allied against Konoha too. He was pretty sure that at least at the time of Inoichi's last conversation with his father, Konoha hadn't been aware of that. He had to inform the Hokage. It was his own village's nightmare coming true.

"Is the Jinchuriki safe?" asked Sakumo after a moment of thought. He felt a bit uncomfortable making such priorities in this situation, but if push came to shove, he'd have to take the girl, flee and leave Uzushiogakure to burn behind him. He'd rather not abandon Konoha's truest ally to its fate, but such were his orders and in the worst-case scenario, he'd have to fulfil them even against Uzushiogakure's resistance. Whatever would happen to the village, its shinobi and citizen, the Kyuubi could not fall into enemy hands.

There was a silent grunt by the woman that sounded like affirmation but was soon drowned out by the old man's raspy voice. "Great. So, the only help that arrives in time, is only here to ensure Kushina's safety," he said bitterly. "No matter how old and sacred an alliance, it just proves what I've always said." He nodded heavily. "In desperate times every village only thinks about itself."

Sakumo tried to ignore the not-so-hidden reproach. "I'm willing to fight for Uzushiogakure," he assured. "But my priorities are to keep the girl safe. She is too young, yet, to fight by herself and can't control the Kyuubi." Why hide the truth?

The old man was about to rant a bit more but was cut off by the Kage. "Stop it, Satoshi. This leads nowhere. We know that the girl has priority." He waited for a moment and only when the old Satoshi didn't say anything anymore did the Kage turn back to Sakumo. "Kushina-chan is down here, currently under guard by two chunin. We fear the enemy is searching for her and it's only a matter of time until their sensors will spot her here. We've sealed her presence away, but even so it's difficult to utterly hide a Bijuu from sight, even for the Uzumaki."

Sakumo nodded knowingly. He did smell a lingering taste of Bijuu-chakra in the air although he couldn't quite place it yet.

"We'll give her under your care. She's of Konoha, anyway."

Sakumo nodded again. Since they had sealed the Kyuubi in her body and put her into the Konoha Academy, Kushina Uzumaki officially was a Konoha citizen and not of Uzushiogakure any longer even if her family still lived here.

"Do you wish for us to leave immediately?" It sounded a bit as if that was the plan. He had assumed they'd ask him to fight in the battle first.

"That would be best. As soon as you leave this hiding place and the seals protecting it, they are sure to sense he Kyuubi's location soon. So, we can't expect to silently whisk her away. But maybe we can catch them by surprise; you'll have a head start and as soon as they follow you, we'll try to lead the civilians here to safety in the other direction."

Sakumo nodded. It did sound like a plan. He'd do at least something good for these people, he assumed. Of course, he'd rather not have the entire enemy army at his back as soon as he left these tunnels, but there didn't seem to be a way around it.

"I doubt I'll be able to get rid of all our pursuers", he remarked doubtfully. Sure, he himself was fast, but with his team and Kushina tagging along … He could only carry one of them and didn't want to leave the other three behind. So, he'd have to move a lot slower.

"We'll try to create a diversion. There are chakra seals that can fake a Bijuu's chakra signature. Maybe we can split the enemy forces up." The suggestion came from the woman. She was in deep thought pouring over the map with her hazel eyes. Suddenly her eyes zeroed in on what he assumed was a rock and cave formation drawn between forests and coast line. "Are you good with seals, Sakumo-san?" she suddenly asked.

He felt a bit embarrassed, because he knew, even though he was certainly 'good with seals' compared to most people, the shinobi of Uzushiogakure were a class of their own. "Decent", he answered. "Is there a seal, I should know?"

The woman looked to the Uzushiokage as if asking for permission, then answered after a silent nod from her superior. "Three in fact." She turned to the bookshelves and after a minute or so, she pushed three scrolls into his arms. Then she pointed at the first. "This one is to supress the Kyuubi's chakra. We'll put Kushina into an artificial slumber. Somebody will have to carry her, but the risk is too high, that the Kyuubi might get loose – or she'll even free him purposefully faced with the destruction of her hometown." Sakumo nodded with understanding. "However, there's a certain chance she might wake up. She showed him several small pieces of paper, not much bigger than paper bombs. "These will supress the Kyuubi chakra cloak in earlier stages. If you apply them as soon as the first chakra leaks out … all the way until she goes to two tails, they should be able to stop the transformation." She sighed silently. "After that, the seal drawn in this scroll is the only way to stop her from fully transforming."

Sakumo nodded, although he didn't quite understand all of it. He had never fought with or against any of the tailed beasts' Jinchurikis. He had only ever read about the Kyuubi chakra cloak and had only a vague understanding of what it was and how it would look like. The instructions however seemed easy enough to understand. He was also quite sure that he had read about several ways to supress even a fully turned Jinchuriki, but he assumed when the woman said that the seal was the only option, she actually meant it was the only option for him. He was no sealing master, nor a Senju or Uchiha.

She pointed at the next scroll. "This scroll gives instructions on how to hide the Kyuubis presence the way it's hidden here. You should be able to learn it within an hour. Of course the seals won't be quite as strong as they are down here, but should you need to hide they might be sufficient."

Sakumo opened the scroll and looked over the first few sentences of the instructions. There were a few specifications of the places that he'd be able to hide from the enemy's sensors, then a long and complicated series of hand signs. He was, however, confident, that he'd manage to learn them in time. He wasn't a genius for naught. So, he wouldn't be able to hide Kushina's inner beast while they were on the move, but he could secure a hiding place … that was something at least.

"Lastly," she said finally with a bit of apprehension in her voice. "The last scroll contains a seal that will free the Bijuu."

Sakumo stared at her disbelief written all over his face. He knew enough about Jinchuriki to know that they wouldn't survive the extraction – or in this case liberation – of the tailed beast. Sometimes, apparently, Uzumaki were able to survive it, but there was a decent chance he'd kill the girl with such a seal. Yet, he knew, why they gave him the scroll anyway. In the absolute worst case it was preferable for the Kyuubi to run free rather than the enemy getting their hands on it already gift-wrapped in a child-Jinchuriki.

He didn't open the scroll but instead just silently hid it away deep in his weapons pouch where he wouldn't be able to easily reach it. Should it come to it, this way at least he'd have to give himself the time to think his decision over and come up with a better idea rather than just decide upon a whim. The other two scrolls he laid on the table to read.

After a few moments in which they spoke over some specifics of their plan, they left him alone to study the scrolls.


	26. The Kyuubi's Jinchuriki

This is a bit of a shorter chapter. I also apologize to the guest asking me to spare the village. I tried staying as close to canon as possible.

 **The Kyuubi's Jinchuriki**

As soon as it got dark they wanted to leave the hiding place and use the darkness for cover. He had learned the new seals and was confident he could use them from memory though he hadn't been able to practice them, yet.

It was the Uzushiokage himself who introduced Sakumo to Kushina Uzumaki.

"Kushina-chan," the old man spoke in a voice as if he were talking to a four-year-old. Kushina was nine or ten years old and only reacted with an indignant frown.

"What is it, old man?"

"Ah, don't be so rude, Kushina-chan. I want you to meat Sakumo-san."

She gazed at him with narrowed eyes for a moment or two. "He's from Konoha," she finally said having obviously seen his forehead protector.

"Konoha sent him here to take care of you. He'll bring you back home."

"What? But I am home, and I want to fight, dattebane," she balled her hands into fists, "I'll show those guys, you'll see! I've trained a lot, dattebane!"

She reminded Sakumo a bit of his sister. She seemed also overconfident, but what did he know; maybe she did already have decent control over the Kyuubi's chakra?

"You know we can't let you fight. You'll just get hurt and the enemy will catch you."

"What's the use in me being that stupid fox' jinchuriki, if you don't let me use him?" She pouted. "You need me. You need every help you can get, and I can help." She had a point, Sakumo thought. What was the point in a jinchuriki if he can't be used to protect the village? Of course, Kushina's plan had a vital flaw: she was still a child and was probable – at least he assumed so – not able to control the beast sufficiently.

"You can't control it yet." The Kage's words proved Sakumo right in his assumption.

"So, what?" She seemed increasingly desperate. "We're out of options and if I don't do anything, they'll destroy Uzushio!"

"Stop it, Kushina!" The Uzushiokage suddenly spoke in a different more serious tone. "Show some respect to your elders. Why would we need the help of a little kid to protect our village? Why don't you just trust us?"

She seemed put off by his words. Pouting again she finally asked "Well, okay. If you promise everything will be alright."

"I will," the lie seemed to come easy to him. "I promise." He offered her his hand to shake. Sakumo could see dark lines hidden on the interior of his hand, but Kushina didn't even look at it as she grabbed it to seal the promise. Instead a completely different seal that he had earlier drawn on his hand snapped into place around her hand. Kushina looked surprised at first, then she looked angry, but before she could do anything or say anything, Sakumo had flashed through a series of handsigns and put her in a deep genjutsu.

"Genjutsu won't work on a jinchuriki," the Kage explained uselessly, because Sakumo had already gathered as much. Not because he had read it anywhere – he had never conducted any research regarding jinchuriki – but because it was obvious really. The Bijuu was a separate chakra entity sealed in a body. And to push foreign chakra into a body trapped in genjutsu was the easiest way to get out of genjutsu. Sakumo suspected there might be some very strong genjutsu that would work on a jinchuriki or the bijuu might not always choose or be able to free its host – but in theory at least he didn't think he knew a genjutsu that could permanently put Kushina under. But that was, what the seal the Uzushiokage had used was meant for.

"I have sealed off the connection between her chakranetwork and the Kyuubi's. The seal won't hold out for more than 48 hours at best – unless it's damaged," the old man explained. He seemed awfully tired. "You should go now."

"Are you sure?" asked Sakumo. He knew he should just go, but it didn't seem right, leaving them to their fate. They were allies after all. And he could see Choza feeding a group of toddlers, Inoichi trying to teach a young woman a basic medical ninjutsu that could be used to numb pain. Shikaku was with a bunch of chunin talking about what Sakumo thought was an emergency evacuation plan. They were allies and he was sure his team thought the same way as they were slowly befriending the Uzushio-nin. "They haven't found this hide-out, yet," Sakumo tried, "we could still-…"

"No," the old man cut in. "This is for the best. Her security is your priority and she should be."

"We can try to draw a bit of attention on us," he suggested in a final attempt to do at least something for these people. It wasn't exactly smart but maybe this way they could help some of them escape.

"No," the elder said again. "They'll be on your tail anyway. Don't make it more difficult for you."

"But-," he just felt horrible about it, but he stopped his pleading when the man suddenly left towards one of the storage rooms. Sakumo was at a loss for words or what to do, so he just stood there and stared at the man's back before looking at the girl that lay slumped on the floor. He kneeled next to her and turned her around carefully, as if he could wake her if he moved her to forcefully. She looked relaxed as if she were asleep.

Watching the girl asleep in her genjutsu, he almost missed the Kage's return, as the man suddenly shoved what looked suspiciously like an Uzushiokage's battle haori into Sakumo's arms. Sakumo stared at it confusedly moving the cloth in his fingers until he had confirmation that that was exactly what it was. White, with red prongs on the short sleeves and flames on its hem. He had seen that design before, the one time he had seen the current Sandaime Uzushiokage in battle, but this one didn't have any writing on the back. There were the Uzumaki crests on the sleeves and at the back of the neck, but where he remembered the word 'Sandaime Uzushiokage' on the back, this one was just plain white.

"What is that for?" he asked bewildered.

"Just keep her save," the Kage said instead of answering.

"I will," Sakumo promised but that hadn't answered his question.

"When the people of this country see this, they'll see you're one of us, a friend. They'll help you escape."

Sakumo stared at him with seemingly no outward reaction, but he clutched the cloth just a bit harder. This man … these people were unbelievable, he admired. They faced imminent destruction, but the Kage had still faith in his people that they would help Sakumo and a little girl escape their possible deaths while so many others they might love and care for might get hurt, while their country burned? Still, he could not take this.

"This is an Uzushiokage's haori. I can't possibly take this." Never mind wear it, he thought.

"It's not," the old man dismissed, "yet anyway. It might have been a future Uzushiokage's battle haori, true. But the stitching on the back will only be added once the next Kage takes office, so for now, it's just a plain battle haori in the traditional colours. As it is now everybody can wear it."

Bullshit, Sakumo new. It had the traditional colours and patterns. A traditional Uzushiokage's battle haori, whether it was already granted to a Kage or no didn't change its purpose. It was certainly not something just anybody was allowed to wear. If it were so, why give it to Sakumo? If it were of no significance, there would be no reason why it should make a difference. But it made a difference … So …

He didn't understand quite yet but he was sure this was more than just an empty gesture. "You sure you want me to wear this?" he asked uncertainly.

"Sure, sure," the man dismissed Sakumo's doubts with a wave of his hand.

The way the room suddenly went quiet once Sakumo pulled the haori over his flak jacket, though, just proved that he had been right. This was more than just a simple gesture. However, he couldn't figure out what it really was.

He pulled the sleeping Kushina into his arms and stood up. She was a light weight, especially considering that the Kyuubi would be somewhere inside of her. Then he gestured to his team to come to him. The three boys were immediately at his side. He shifted the girls weight a bit in his arms, feeling uncomfortable at the prospect of saying his goodbyes. He doubted he'd see these people again. It wasn't like he knew any of them, really, but they had impressed him in the short time he had spoken to them. Admirable, he thought, and it pained him to let them behind. He tried to think of his own team and the girl in his arms whose safety he'd be jeopardizing the longer he'd wait here, the more he'd do for the Uzushio-nin, but it didn't really help with the sickening feeling that he was leaving good people to die.

"Take care," he said after a moment. "Get your people to safety."

"I will," the man said and Sakumo was wondering whether he was lying as easily to him as he had lied to Kushina. He didn't want to ponder on it. "Give Hiruzen-san my best wishes."

Sakumo frowned. How could the man be so leisurely with the situation? "I'm sorry, we couldn't be of any help," he said, and he didn't know if he was talking about himself, his team or all of Konoha. Maybe all three, he thought. "We should have been able to do more," he said. What kind of allies were they if in their darkest hour they only sent a small genin team with their sensei still recovering from injury? Never mind it had been their failure that the enemies had even gotten that far, after all they had slipped through Konoha's borders to get here.

The Uzushiokage blinked. "Hatake-san," he started with an amused smile, "you are a humble man, indeed. You think Konoha didn't do nearly enough for us? That may be right, but you're underestimating the help they already sent us." Sakumo frowned. Was there something he did not know? "Currently, in this village, you are the most powerful man here." Sakumo stared disbelieving. "You can trust my estimation, I was once one of the greatest sensors out there. Especially with my successor … But no, even if the Sandaime were healthy and in top form right now between you two, I wouldn't bet on him." Sakumo stared even more. How … He didn't want to doubt the old man's words, but even if it might be true – he could see himself defeating everyone he'd sensed so far in a 1v1 at least – how would the old man know that? How could he gage that? He might be a great sensor, but Sakumo's chakra signature for all he knew was routinely suppressed and he was pretty relaxed since he was here as there was no fighting happening. His chakra signature should only barely be detectable. Sure, for a genius sensor … he wouldn't overlook him, but to make such a bold statement on Sakumo's strength compared to others just based on that … It wasn't like Sakumo had huge amounts of chakra reserves that would impress just about any sensor he knew.

"Then, I should be out on the streets fighting," he finally said without delving any deeper into the question, how that man would know that much just from his chakra signature.

"You are the strongest, but even still, against all of them, you would lose. We have lost this battle. There is no saving this village, I can feel it in every fibre of my body." He looked tired again. "Flight had been our only option for a while and with you here … if we manage to split the opponents evenly between the different groups … but even if not, at least we'll know, Kushina is safe."

The old man and Sakumo both looked at the red-haired girl, now. "Maybe to others she will only ever be the jinchuriki, and to those people maybe this will be the only thing of worth in her. But Kushina is one of us. She might become a Konoha-shinobi, soon, but she grew up here, her family and friends still live and fight here – or did this morning. You might only be ordered to bring her to safety because of the Kyuubi, but the deciding part for me … us is that for the sake of the Kyuubi or not – she will be safe."

He didn't say any more but Sakumo understood. This man faced with the destruction of his home, his village, his people desperately grabbed at the opportunity to maybe safe just one girl. A whole village for a girl. His fingers grabbed the edges of his white haori. He suddenly felt proud to wear it, but simultaneously a new weight settled on his shoulders. This man trusted him to keep Kushina safe, his whole village would die before they let them have the girl, apparently. So Sakumo could under no circumstances lose Kushina. Nor could he forcefully extract the Kyuubi and let it run free … No, he HAD to bring the girl to Konoha. No matter what.

"I'll keep her safe," he repeated once more. Then he bowed and left with Kushina in his arms and his team silently following behind him.


	27. Fight or Flight?

**Fight or Flight?**

"Nidaime-sama gave this to you?" The Shinobi that had just materialized in front of them asked staring wide eyed at his white haori.

Sakumo had sensed him coming but although he couldn't have been sure whether he was friend or foe he couldn't have slowed down to prevent this meeting. He smelled their enemies hot on their heels. Luckily, it turned out the Chunin in front of him was a friend.

"Yes, he did."

"You're running away?" His voice trembled with exhaustion or fright – it was difficult to say. "Don't you want to fight?" He glanced at Sakumo's Hitai-Ate. "You're of Konoha and a friend of Uzushiogakure; why won't you fight?"

Sakumo felt horrible. He had only slowed a little bit, when they had met the Chunin, now he was picking up his pace again, the Chunin following on his side, behind him he could hear Choza panting. They were too fast for the chubby boy. Just a few more minutes, Sakumo decided, until they were well out of the battle area, then they'd slow down. Choza just had to hold out.

"I have order to bring her to safety", he nodded towards the girl curled in his arms. Her red hair was obscuring half her face.

"She's … Kushina?" The man only threw the girl a sideway glance. "Because she's the jinchuriki, or because you care?"

Sakumo stared at him. What was he supposed to say? He didn't know the girl, but he knew she was well-liked by the people in this village, he had understood that much at least. Saying, he didn't protect her because of the bijuu inside would have been a lie though, so he didn't answer.

"Whatever", the man muttered after a short moment of quiet, "if Nidaime-sama trusts you, I'll help and stall them."

"Not necessary", said Sakumo automatically though it definitely would be a big help … that was, if the Chunin was good enough to stall them which Sakumo doubted. The young man didn't listen. "Wait!" Sakumo demanded more sharply, but the man had already slowed down and Sakumo couldn't risk doing the same, so he and his team shot past the Uzushio-nin. Sakumo cursed.

"He … He's going to be fine, right?" Choza panted heavily behind him.

Sakumo didn't answer because he wouldn't lie, and he could already smell the scent of blood and feel the chakra signature flicker away. The wind was strong came strong from behind, so of course he smelled the man's final moments. It had hardly taken a minute and didn't really stall their enemies and Sakumo just cursed again. What a waste.

"He's dead," said Inoichi quietly. He was a sensor, and could no doubt feel the chakra signature close by flicker into nothing. Sakumo cursed again, he wished the boy wasn't that blunt, he wasn't sure how Choza would take it.

In fact, Choza took it badly. He turned towards Inoichi in shock in mid-run and then didn't quite catch the next tree branch he wanted to land on.

"Wah!" He screamed in shock as he plummeted helplessly to the ground.

Sakumo didn't even think about what he was doing when his body was already moving on his own. Using the next thick branch as leverage he propelled himself and Kushina back to the boy that had landed with a painful grunt on his back. He didn't seem hurt, just a bit stunned. "Keep going!" he demanded of Inoichi and Shikaku who made to stop, too. Within a matter of … not even a second, he was at Choza's side, grabbed his upper arm and dragged him back up to the trees to keep going. Only when they had reached Inoichi and Shikaku again, did he let go of Choza. It had only taken a few seconds, still, he was almost sure, they had lost more time then the Chunin had been able to stall for them.

"Sensei," Inoichi suddenly muttered. "I can sense a group of shinobi right ahead."

Sakumo nodded quietly. The wind was too strong in their backs, so he could hardly smell what happened in front of him. He had only sensed the Chunin before because the guy had been miserable at masking his chakra. Sakumo was not a sensor, but he did have basic sensory training. The fact that Inoichi sensed somebody before he did made him feel a rush of pride for a moment, before pushing it down.

He extended his senses as far as he could. Indeed, … they were clearly masking their chakra. "How many do you think?" He himself couldn't quite tell. Maybe five or six?

"Not sure," Inoichi frowned. "Half a dozen, maybe."

Sakumo nodded. "We need to avoid them. If they are enemies, we'll lose too much time fighting them." There were, at least a dozen or more following them; their numbers growing every minute with more people joining them and even more enemies further behind. As soon as they'd be involved in a fight, Sakumo knew, they wouldn't get out of it again. He wished, Akane was here. She'd be able to use a Jutsu and stall the enemies behind them long enough for Sakumo to deal with them in smaller groups.

"They are moving towards us," Inoichi warned.

Sakumo cursed. "Lead the way around them." His sensory skills were almost entirely concentrated in his nose and his nose was currently overwhelmed with the scents coming from behind them. His other senses only gave him a fuzzy image of what was happening in front of him.

"Aye," Inoichi said after a moment of stunned quiet. Then he let them slightly to the right. The enemies at their back would get a bit closer this way, Sakumo knew, but they had no other choice.

They followed Inoichi's instructions for a minute or so, but Sakumo already knew it was no use. There was no getting out of this without a fight.

"I'm sorry," Inoichi suddenly mumbled desperately. "I don't … I don't know where to go. We're not fast enough … and … damnit, this is all my fault!"

"It's not," Sakumo dismissed his apology, before he suddenly slowed down. "We'll have to fight." He pushed the sleeping girl in Shikaku's hands. "Hide. Take care of her and try to catch them by surprise."

Maybe Shikaku would come up with an ingenious plan if Sakumo and the rest of the team could buy him the time while he just watched. If nothing else, he might at least be able to come up with a surprise attack and catch them with his shadows.

The Nara-heir stared at him with huge round eyes, then he nodded and vanished between the bushes down on the ground.

"You two, with me," Sakumo ordered the other two boys. Both of them looked at him with wide eyes and pale faces. They were afraid, he thought. Did they think he'd let them die? But then, suddenly Inoichi got more serious. He still looked afraid and insecure but there was a determined look on his face.

"I'll make up for it," he mumbled more to himself than anybody else. He blamed himself for having failed at leading them to safety, Sakumo realized.

Choza seemed to disagree with Inoichi's estimation of his own guilt. "That's my fault," the Akimichi sounded almost whiny, "just because I slipped up …"

"Stop it, both of you," demanded Sakumo. "I need you to concentrate on our opponents. If you can't do that, go hide with Shikaku and Kushina." His words were maybe a bit harsh, but he wouldn't risk it. He'd rather fight a hundred opponents by himself than have two kids by his side who were more absorbed in their own guilt than they were in what was actually happening around them. "Mistakes happen. Forget it and concentrate on the here and now. You can analyse your mistakes later."

"If there even is a later." Damn Inoichi's pessimistic realism.

"Don't worry," was the last thing Sakumo managed to say, before the opponents suddenly broke out of the trees around them, "I won't let my comrades die."

It was the first time he had actually voiced his oath in a situation where his comrades' lives were actually in danger. It felt good though, honest. He knew, he would move heaven and hell to stay true to it. Maybe they knew, too, or maybe they just trusted him with the naïve faith only a young Genin student who had never really seen a battle could have in his Jonin Sensei. It didn't matter, because one way or the other – he would not betray their faith in him.

Ten shinobi suddenly broke through the trees in front of him, almost simultaneously five more charged at them from the side. They carried ANBU masks with no village or identification marks. Part of him hoped they only carried the mask for intimidation and to mask their faces, not because they actually were ANBU. He doubted, his team could survive long against a single ANBU-level opponent, never mind fifteen – and he was almost sure there were more opponents closing in.

He cursed silently and gripped his tanto in strong fingers. He'd have to reserve his strength. His fighting style was almost entirely offensive. Offensively, he was surely one of the most effective and dangerous shinobi in Konoha. Even Jiraiya's sage mode never held up to Sakumo's own offensive effectiveness. Defensively, he relied mostly on his speed, reaction and agility. He was able to use his raiton chakra as a shield but that was too chakra extensive for him to use permanently.

However, his last bigger battle he had almost lost Kenoah because he had put too much trust in his offense. While he himself had taken out their opponents, he had almost lost his teammate without even realizing what was happening. He would not risk that again. He would have to slow down and keep an eye on his team … After all, he assumed there was a reason, why he had always worked so well alone. He didn't like it, nor did he like even thinking about it, but he was undeniably at his strongest when he didn't have to worry about other people, when he could just concentrate completely on himself.

He wished he were alone, now. He wished he could just fight and not look behind himself at the people he had to protect behind his back. Then he wouldn't have to fear losing his team. He would hate it too, he knew, because he hated being alone. He also tended to be more reckless when he was alone – after all he was not used to second guessing himself. Yashiro and later Kenoah had always been the people to second guess him, to tell him when he was being stupid or reckless. Akane had always been the one looking for his back when he was stumbling head first into danger. He was offensively stronger alone – deadlier. But in a team – in a well-functioning team – he had always been the altogether better shinobi. Now, though, he was not with Yashiro or Kenoah or Akane, but with three Genin and a sleeping girl who could easily turn into his weak points if he didn't keep an eye on them.

So instead of doing what he was used to doing from so many different battles – just flashing away and dancing over the battlefield lightning-fast, leaving his team to mostly fend for themselves – now, he stayed where he was, took a defensive position to defend his team rather than take out his opponents and hoped … hoped beyond hope that they would get an opportunity to flee later on. If not, he would just stay here – he assumed he'd have no other choice – fend off their attacks and slowly kill as many of them as he could until there was nobody left to hurt his team.

He kept alert eyes on his surroundings, on the opponents slowly surrounding them. Soon, there would be even more than them. He was itching to attack, but part of him feared as soon as he'd flash away, they'd attack Choza and Inoichi at his back. So instead he waited for someone else to make the first move. "Stick together, protect each other", he mumbled to Choza and Inoichi in exactly the same moment when the first person on the scene lost his patience.

It was Choza. "Baika no Jutsu," he roared, and a big hand grabbed for two of their opponents who just easily evaded the attack. Choza's voice trembled but Sakumo didn't give it a second thought, instead he activated the raiton chakra in his feet and flashed in the back of one of the ANBU who had tried to evade Choza's technique. He buried his tanto in the man's back and was back with Inoichi and Choza, before the opponents had even realized what had happened.

He realized a moment later that even Choza and Inoichi hadn't realized what was happening. They stared at the dead man as if they had never seen one before and Sakumo had to release a short burst of chakra to get them back into the fight and to warn everyone around them, to not even think about using this opportunity. It didn't help … Choza and Inoichi were snapped back to attention but the silent stare-off they had so far suddenly ended when all fourteen of their remaining enemies charged almost simultaneously from all sides.

He blocked an attack from the front and had no time to counterattack because a startled cry by Inoichi made him aware of the danger his students were in as two of the incognito opponents were about to impale them. Sakumo flashed in front of them and with deadly precision stabbed in the first man's armpits where the armour didn't protect him. His short sword was deeply embedded in the man's torso, but in his final dying moments he somehow managed to twist his body in a way that made it difficult for Sakumo to quickly retrieve his sword. He didn't have the time for that, so he let his sword go, let it drop to the ground with the dying man. There was someone at his back, he realized with alert senses. And more of their opponents trying to get to Inoichi and Choza. He didn't have time to look at how his students were doing, but he could feel their chakras flaring and was sure that at least they were still fighting back.

Two opponents came at him from the front. His hands moved deftly, forming rapid finger signs but he wasn't yet happy with the speed of his signs. He had still not quite retrained his right hand to its former dexterity, now it cost him a few precious tenths of a second. Still, just in time he managed to slam his hand to the ground and raise the tall mudwall in front of him, blocking the two attacks that had just been aimed right at his head.

On the ground his fingers quickly found the hilt of his tanto and in a fluid motion he turned around, had his raiton chakra activated and almost split the man behind him in two.

Behind the protection of his mudwall he risked a quick glance at Inoichi and Choza. Choza was head first in a taijutsu exchange with one of the opponents. He was successfully occupying his opponent who evaded with no difficulty but didn't really find the opportunity to counter attack. Or maybe he was just too careful to risk it with Inoichi guarding over Choza's back. Choza was too consumed in his battle to realize what was happening around him, but Inoichi took care of that. He stood with Kunai drawn glowering at their opponents trying to protect Choza's back while simultaneously looking for a weak moment, for the right opportunity wen Choza or he had an opponent pinned down for him to use his Shintenshin no Jutsu. He had no such luck though, the opponents were moving around them fast, switching positions and tactics within the blink of an eye. They were obviously concentrated on Sakumo, but they tried to get to the kids, nonetheless, knowing that if he were to see them die, he'd probably falter and lose the fight.

Sakumo activated the lightning in his fingertips and like claws alight in electricity he slashed through the mudwall at one of the guys behind it, while his white glowing chakra sword pierced the mudwall were the second attacker was hidden. He couldn't exactly place them behind the mudwall, but the tip of his sword managed to pierce one man's shoulder while his claws raked over the throat of the other, not quite killing him. The mudwall crumbled around him.

With bloodied claws and sword, he turned around and saw three enemies at once making to attack Inoichi. He prepared to flash to his aid, but the man behind him, the man he had just caught at the shoulder with his sword grabbed his ankle, halting the Hatake in his movement. A glance down at the man, made Sakumo aware of the danger was in as the downed enemy made to slash at his leg. But Sakumo couldn't deal with that now. He had to …

He ignored the threat to himself and rapidly formed finger signs again. This time when he slammed the hands on the ground the ground below their feet shook violently, the earth shifted under one of the Jutsus Akane was so well-known for. Simultaneously the injured man laying next to him stabbed into his leg with a Kunai, the blade sharply cut through his pants, skin and muscle until it stuck between his fibula and tibia. He gritted his teeth, and with a fast movement he had the man's lungs pierced with his blade. He just hoped the man didn't use poison.

"Shiranshin no Jutsu," he suddenly heard Inoichi use the Mind-Body-Disturbance Jutsu that he already remembered from back when Kazuki had used it to save his team's asses with. All of their opponents as well as Inoichi and Choza had been caught in Sakumo's small landslide. Inoichi had apparently caught his balance again as one of the fastest and used the short moment while the others were still trying to get a secure stand to use his family's technique. Choza was back on his feet only a moment after Inoichi, but he was again under pressure from their opponents. He was losing, Sakumo saw desperately. They were losing. No … He had to do something.

He had hoped Inoichi's technique would work better, but despite the boy's initial triumphant grin, when he managed to make four of the ANBU level opponents turn against each other. Giving Sakumo a precious second to dispatch of another opponent, this triumph was only short-lived. The Yamanaka had either been desperate to ignore the risk or he had overestimated his own strength, because suddenly only a moment after he had the opponents caught in his technique, his smile suddenly vanished, he grunted in exhaustion and without ample warning his technique broke and he crumpled on the floor like a lifeless puppet somebody had cut the strings from. Chakra exhaustion. Sakumo remembered, that this technique had exhausted Kazuki, too, many years back. And back then, Kazuki had only dared to control a few Chunin, not ANBU-level fighters.

"Choza!" Sakumo screamed flashing next to the boy and disregarding the three men and women he had fought himself just a moment ago. "Take Inoichi and run," he commanded eyes only leaving Inoichi's unconscious body with difficulty.

Choza seemed afraid and only when Sakumo took over his opponent did he dare to look at Inoichi. He grabbed the blondes limp arm and heaved him over his shoulder, but he seemed clueless as to where to run. And really, where should he run?

Damn it! If only …

"Here!" came Shikaku's voice from his hiding place. Sakumo whirled around and stared at Shikaku who had jumped down from his tree. Had he …? Yes. Thank god for the Nara, Sakumo thought as he realized that Shikaku had actually managed to catch the vast majority of their opponents in his Kagemane no Jutsu. There were still a few able to move freely, and Sakumo knew he didn't have time to kill them all now. Especially with even more opponents closing in on them and Shikaku wouldn't be able to hold this technique long enough. Sakumo formed more rapid finger signs and let out a massive burst of raiton chakra stunning the ANBU around him. He grabbed Choza, flashed towards Shikaku and killed two of their stunned opponents on his way through.

"I can't hold this …"

Shikaku was already swaying from chakra exhaustion so he let Choza go and instead grabbed Shikaku and the still sleeping Kushina, throwing the girl over his shoulder and dragging Shikaku along behind him. Choza with Inoichi slumped over his back was slower than him, still they managed to get to the trees and leave their opponents out of sight before they recovered from being hit point blank by his lightning.

"Wh- What now?" panted Choza behind him. Sakumo just threw a quick glance back at the Akimichi, the only one in his team still standing with Inoichi slumped unconscious over his back and Sakumo knew in that moment, that they wouldn't be able to go much longer. Choza was exhausted from the fighting and looked as if it was only sheer despair and willpower that kept him going.

"We're … S-Sensei, you're still bleeding." It was even difficult to discern his words between the heavy breaths.

Sakumo knew that too … Blood was running freely down his left foot and it hurt, but he did his best to ignore that, though of course he felt it anyway. He couldn't see it though. Kushina was laying in his arms unconscious and blocking his view.

"I can … Sensei, I can walk", said Shikaku who was clinging to Sakumo's back not unconscious but so thoroughly exhausted from his Kagemane no Jutsu that his arms and hands were still shaking violently where he gripped around Sakumo's neck. It was all the boy could do, to hold onto him. The Hatake knew that he wouldn't be able to run by himself without having to actually sense for the Nara's remaining chakra reserves.

"Shut up, both of you," ordered Sakumo, "keep your breath."

Choza seemed about to argue but then he only grunted from exhaustion and readjusted Inoichi's limp figure over his shoulder.

This was bad, Sakumo knew. He glanced down at the girl in his arms. The enemies would follow them until they'd finally get to her and they couldn't run forever. He could … leave her behind or even release the Kyuubi – effectively failing the mission and abandoning her to death or maybe worse. Or he could … damn there wasn't much he could do.

The last time he had felt that cornered … well, he didn't remember ever having felt that way. He had felt all sorts of horrible, when his comrades died or his subordinates – Kazuki, he thought, angry at himself for remembering that name now of all times – he had felt desperate when he had been forced to just watch on as people suffered ... But he didn't remember ever feeling that helpless anger that the prospect of failing brought. He would fail this mission, he knew. It would be his first and final mission failure. The least he could do, was give his team a fighting chance … maybe they could finish the mission for him.

He had been here, he thought angrily. He had seen the fight, had been right there. But there was nothing he had done, he hadn't even tried. He had just watched on as their truest ally was massacred in their homes and now, he might just fail to even only save a little girl.


	28. Passing Down the Will of Fire

**Passing down the Will of Fire**

He didn't look back at Choza. They couldn't risk a break and part of him feared that the moment they'd slow down just a bit, Choza would keel over and then he wouldn't be able to get up again. It was only adrenaline that seemed to keep the Akimichi going and Sakumo was glad for it, because if Choza now crumpled, they'd all be lost. So, instead of looking backwards, he only listened for the kid's unsteady steps.

The woods were moving past them quickly as they made their way to the coast. But he wasn't looking for the water. They wouldn't make it over the sea in this state. Not with all his team intact. He alone … maybe, but even that was doubtful if the waves were to rough. So, instead he was looking for a good hiding place.

Finally, after he almost lost hope already he saw a formation of rocks. That might be what the elders had told him about; they had spoken of cave-ins to hide. He passed a few of the rock-formations and caves before he settled for one big enough to hold his team comfortably. He didn't want to take the first should the attackers search here, but he couldn't waste too much time, either.

He dumped both Kushina and Shikaku unceremoniously on the stone ground. The Nara grunted in disapproval before dragging himself into a sitting position and looking around. Choza stumbled past Sakumo into the cave and practically fell on his face with Inoichi sprawled still unconscious over his back.

"Hide?" asked Shikaku who was apparently even lacking the strength to form a complete sentence.

Sakumo only grunted in response while forming quick handsigns.

"Kuchiyose no Jutsu."

With a silent poof Gareth appeared again. He had disbanded the Kuchiyose once they had found the surviving Uzusio-nin – though of course Sakumo did not know, if they were still in fact surviving; that had been hours ago. Now the beagle looked at their surroundings and then at Sakumo in confusion. Shikaku seemed confused at the dog's reappearance as well.

"Are you an idiot, brat?" asked the ninja hound angrily. "What are you wasting so much chakra to only summon me?" He snorted which sounded a lot like a growl. "You must be really out of it, if you don't keep control on your chakra …"

"Shut up," Sakumo ordered and he had the annoying feeling that ordering people to shut their mouth was the only thing he'd done all day. "I need you here for a long time. That's why. Don't worry, my chakra reserves are just fine." And it was true. While all of his team had very much exhausted themselves, he was certainly physically tired, but he had hardly even tabbed into his chakra reserves. That would be over soon, he knew, but for now, at least in that regard there was nothing to worry about.

He started drawing the seals he had learned a few hours ago into the ground at the entrance and again on the walls. Then with another burst of chakra, he activated them. "To hide Kushina and the Kyuubi's chakra signature," he explained as he met Shikaku's questioning glance.

"We have to treat …" Only when he started emptying his pouch and bags of everything unnecessary in a battle – food rations, water bottles, maps, empty scrolls … everything he hadn't already left behind hours ago – did Shikaku look up from Sakumo's leg wound. "What are you doing, sensei?" His intelligent eyes were narrowed, and it was his sharp tone that made Choza finally shove Inoichi off his back and work to sit up and look at Sakumo, too.

"What is it?" asked Choza warily more towards Shikaku than his sensei.

"I don't know, but if I didn't know any better …" Shikaku trailed off as his eyes suddenly widened. "You're preparing for battle!"

Sakumo didn't answer. Instead he readjusted his Tanto across his shoulder blade and scrambled for a food pill in his pouch.

"You're planning to go back out there." Shikaku finally realized.

"What?" That was Choza, almost hysteric. "You can't!"

Sakumo swallowed the food pill then he looked at the two. "I have to. They will search for us and find us here. I have to lead them away." He looked over his head back to the entrance of the cave. They would catch up to them soon. He was amazed that he didn't sense them in the vicinity, yet. He had to go … now! "I'll leave Gareth with you."

Shikaku seemed to somewhat accept that Sakumo had to do this. He didn't seem to like it, but his analytical brain didn't provide him with a better solution so even if Sakumo could see him try and search for a better plan, he obviously came up empty. Choza was not that willing to give up.

"But you can't! Sensei! You can't just leave us!" Sakumo flinched almost unperceivably, but the notion of leaving four kids – two of them unconscious – to fend for themselves didn't sit right with him, and that was an understatement.

"I have to." He should go, he knew, but as he made to step out of the cave, Choza jumped at him and grabbed his wrist in an almost painfully tight grip. Sakumo was impressed with how much strength the kid had left, but it was still an easy thing for him to wrench his wrist free. But instead of just leaving, he knelt down in front of the Akimichi and put his hands on his shoulders.

"You'll die." Choza voiced his fears through trembling lips.

Sakumo patted the spikey red hair down a bit. "I'll be fine," he lied and though Choza seemed to be a bit appeased with that, Shikaku ruined it immediately.

"Liar," he accused. "Be at least honest with us, before you just up and go to your death." He sounded angry but Sakumo could hear the masked despair and fear. Choza looked as if tears were about to spill from his eyes.

Sakumo wanted to argue, but they didn't have time and they were right: they deserved his honesty. He quickly formed handsigns to create a shadow clone that would already go ahead and hopefully distract the enemies for a moment longer. With the seals in place, he didn't fear that they would just be able to sense their presence, but he couldn't push their luck.

"Sorry, boys. You're right, it looks bad. But there's no other choice. They'll catch up to us, soon."

"What about the mission?" asked Shikaku trying to find an argument that would make Sakumo stay.

"You can finish that without me. As soon as the air is clear, Gareth will lead you to Konoha. He should have enough chakra to do that." Even if I'm dead, he added to himself. He had pushed a lot of chakra into the Summoning Jutsu exactly for that purpose.

"We could fight together," Choza said stubbornly but the uncertain glance he threw back at the unconscious Inoichi proved that he himself was aware about the error in his plan.

"You'd die," Sakumo said almost soothingly.

"Yeah. But maybe you'd survive. Why would you have to sacrifice your life for us? Actually …," he hesitated, "you could just take Kushina and run. Don't tell me you're not strong enough. We're just slowing you down. Just finish the mission and we'll tr-…"

"Stop!" demanded Sakumo suddenly. "Stop it, Choza! You know I wouldn't l-…"

"Why not?!" The Akimichi was almost screaming. "Why should you be the one to die? And why should we just …"

"Because it's my job!" Sakumo interrupted, almost angry that they couldn't see it. He forced himself to calm down again as he saw Choza's shocked face. "I'm your teacher, your superior. I'm responsible for you. To protect you is my duty. The most important duty. Even if it weren't. You're the future generation and as such you are more important than me."

They would understand, he thought, once they were old enough. Maybe they would be angry now … and he did regret leading them to this massacre, but in a few years, they would understand, right? The way he understood now, why Kagami-sensei had died the way he had, protecting Sakumo.

"I'll go with you! We'll fight together!" Choza remained stubborn. Despite getting impatient because he feared their enemies would fall upon them any moment, he couldn't help that he liked Choza all the more for it.

"Look behind you," he said gently and nodded at the three kids behind Choza: Inoichi, still unconscious, Kushina, a pre-genin lost in a Genjutsu and too much of a liability to let lose now, Shikaku, slumped against the stone wall, awake but too weak to even stand. None of them were able to fight, let alone defend themselves. "They need you, Choza. Your friends … your team needs you. You're the only one here who can still fight. We can't just leave them with no protection." Choza seemed to agree with that despite the forlorn expression of anger on his face. Anger at himself, Sakumo knew because he had felt similarly when he had found out how Kagami had died. "You'll have to protect them. Promise me, Choza."

"But …," he sounded so doubtful, afraid …

"No buts, Choza. You're a kind and shy kid, but we're hunted by the enemy, now. You can't go on and doubt your strength or your conviction and you can't show mercy. You're getting embarrassed, flustered and emotional too easily. Should they come here, and should they find you, promise me, you'll protect your team!"

He thought he was unfair to the kid. Choza was only a Genin. What would he be able to do against a group of Chunin, Jonin or even ANBU? He would die fighting. Then again, should they get caught, they'd all die anyway and Sakumo preferred his team to go out fighting and giving their opponents a headache than just rolling over in acceptance of their fate. Choza, he was sure, a Choza willing to go above and beyond his capabilities to protect his friends, was a force to be reckoned with, even for a Jonin.

Finally, Choza nodded though a bit cautiously. "I promise."

"Good, listen to Shikaku." He looked at the Nara for a moment. "He's the smartest kid I know. And if he gets over his genetic laziness and excepts the responsibility of being a leader, he'll surpass his father and become one of the finest strategists Konoha has ever seen."

Shikaku stared at him with huge eyes but he was already looking at Inoichi. "Tell Inoichi I'm sorry about," he hesitated, then he shook his head … no use in opening up old wounds. "Tell him I'm sorry. Tell him to never lose his love for flowers. In the harsh shinobi world people might laugh at a boy with such a hobby, but it's important to enjoy the finer things in life."

He hesitated for a moment when neither Shikaku nor Choza said anything. He thought he heard Choza sniffling, but he wasn't sure whether he was actually crying and he didn't look. Instead he took one of the scrolls he had emptied from his pocket and gave it to Shikaku. "There are instructions how to lift the Genjutsu on Kushina as soon as the fighting is over or you're out of danger."

Finally, he stepped out of the cave. He used a mudwall jutsu to seal off the entrance and a genjutsu to make it look like solid rock. He was confident that Choza would be able to break through the mudwall as soon as Inoichi and Shikaku had regained enough strength to move on. Even Gareth was probably able to dig through the earth back to the outside.

Sakumo sniffed the air and when he didn't find anything he started moving again. He moved away from the rock formations to the coast and then along the coast. He soon came upon a stony beach where he reunited with his double. Only here did he activate the decoy that would fake a Kyuubi chakra signature for the enemies to follow. They were already hot on the heels of his double, so he was back on the run, back being hunted and followed soon enough. He didn't run full speed, so they wouldn't get too suspicious. He hoped they would mistake his double for the slower moving Choza.

Only when he was far enough away that he felt confident they wouldn't know where to search for his team even if they found out that he had left them behind, did he increase his speed.

He suddenly smelled a group of enemies from the front. So, they had either split up to surround him or there was a second group of shinobi coming for him. He didn't have any illusions of grandeur. He could not take them in a one vs however many they were. Too many of them were elite ANBU not just regular Jonin. He could smell that they were strong. Maybe there were even two or three among them that he'd classify as S-rank by scent alone.

He suddenly changed his direction back into the forest. If he had to fight, which seemed to be unavoidable now, he'd do it in the forest. Running over this beach and its small round stones he'd realized that he didn't have enough of a stable grip on the ground to use his speed to its maximal potential. He increased his speed again, as he realized that they were slowly drawing nearer. So, they had planned to surround him and then fall upon him simultaneously. It wasn't that big a surprise, he had known they'd probably be faster than him since he hadn't run full speed anyway.

Well … he glanced around himself. The woods here were already a bit dried and leafless from late autumn. The winter never really hit Konoha as harshly as it did further north, so he was not used to fighting in woods that lost most of their lush green leaves and thus the natural protection he'd use to cover behind. Earlier the forest had been made up of many evergreen conifer's and he'd have preferred to fight in one of those areas of the forest. It wasn't that bad, but he was angered at himself for not thinking about this earlier.

This would have to do, he knew. Here, he'd make his final stand. There was no use in coming up with fancy strategies or even a trap. He did not know enough about them and they knew he was here … so no use trying to surprise them. They were too close, he could already see them close behind him. He drew his sword.

As soon as his foot made contact with the next tree branch, instead of pushing forward he violently pushed his body back against the nearing enemy with twice his former speed.

Part of him wished, he would not fight this last battle alone … then again, at least he wouldn't have to hold back now.


	29. The Dance of the Doomed

I haven't written much recently. I hope that I can find some motivation soon. Else it might be that after this part of the story you might have to wait a bit longer for the chapters. Sorry for that.

 **The Dance of the Doomed**

He was dancing over the battlefield. A cruel, bloody, deadly dance of blades, fists and jutsu. There were twelve of them and now that he didn't have to concentrate on Inoichi, Shikaku and Choza he could for the first time truly assess their skill. Six had been behind him, the other six joined the fight only moments after Sakumo had first clashed with them. Twelve in total.

With the very first attack he had killed his first opponent, a chunin – he assumed – who had been much too slow for him. It had been a good start, now however he felt like he was stuck in a dead lock he couldn't get out of.

His chakra enhanced blade sang a high-pitched tune as it clashed with another sword and cut the blade clean in two, but his opponents managed to divert the slash enough, so he wouldn't get harmed. Sakumo didn't lament over it, but easily twisted away from a fire jutsu directed at his chest. He didn't know who had cast it and there was no time to look because a taijutsu specialist jumped him from behind.

This one was good, really good. But he didn't seem to be so good with teamwork. His strong attacks were not coordinated with the other enemies so for just a moment Sakumo only had this one opponent to deal with. He knew the others would probably use the pause to come up with new ideas or surround him from all sides, but for a moment he took the break with gratitude.

He could have easily flashed away – he was clearly faster than his opponent – but then the others would just join the fight again, so instead of making this one quick he used the moment to assess his situation.

This one, he'd assume, was a Jonin or Special-Jonin. So far, he hadn't shown anything but his – admittedly strong – taijutsu. The fact that he wasn't coordinated with his comrades gave Sakumo hope that they weren't used to fighting together in this constellation, so maybe that would somewhat negate the advantage in numbers they had.

There was clearly one opponent at least, that was S-rank. Behind the blank mask he did not know his face. He carried two swords over his back but unlike the others he kept his distance, watching the fight rather than taking part in it. He was the biggest threat, Sakumo thought, at least if his scent was anything to go by. He smelled of blood, deception and lightning release. He was the main threat, Sakumo thought, but if he stayed back the way he was now, maybe Sakumo could avoid fighting him until he had somewhat taken care of the rest.

Threat number two, he decided, would be the female. He couldn't place what made him fear her, but all his instincts screamed at him to not turn his back on her. She exuded a killing intent like he had never felt before. Both of them he didn't remember being there when he had first fought the opponents that had come after them, back when his team was still with him.

Number three … He avoided a crushing punch from the taijutsu specialist aimed for his head. Threat number three would be the tactician. He had realized that the moment the fight had started. The shinobi had not much of a chakra signature but the way he was staying in the back and keeping a watchful eye on what was happening … It was not like the swordfighter that Sakumo deemed threat number one. No, threat number one seemed to hold back out of a lack of interest or some misguided sense of … arrogance? This one however was clearly watching every move Sakumo made with intelligent eyes waiting for the chance to strike.

He'd have to take care of this one, and soon, before he could come up with a strategy that would rally the others behind him. As for the other's …

He suddenly grabbed his tanto and slashed at the man who was slowly backing him against a tree. The man evaded skilfully but obviously surprised at the sudden counter attack. Had he thought he had successfully cornered Sakumo? Well, he'd regret his error now. Sakumo was after him in an instant. The man was fast. Taijutsu specialists were always fast, but he wasn't quite as fast as Sakumo, so as he stumbled back, Sakumo stroke downwards with his blade and caught the man in the shoulder.

A water release attack came for him, so he evaded backwards before it hit and sadly also before he could kill his opponent, but he was confident he'd dealt a severe blow.

He immediately went after the man he thought was a strategist, but maybe he had seen it coming or the shinobi in general had orders to protect him, but three opponents jumped in his way simultaneously. He diverted his way, because there was no reason to get locked in battle with three opponents of whom none was the man, he needed to kill the most. Instead, he went after the shinobi that had tried to hit him with the suiton jutsu. That one had proven to have impeccable timing. So, despite not having a threatening presence or chakra signature, Sakumo now deemed him a threat.

The battle that ensued was short-lived and brutal. His opponent was a ranged attacker so as soon as Sakumo flashed in front of him, the man had already lost. He didn't go out without a bang though and the Water Release: Severing Wave, he spit with his last breath almost cut off Sakumo's left arm. He managed to block most of the damage by activating his lightning shield. He still took damage, but the hit his chakra reserves had taken from blocking the point blank technique with pure lightning chakra was worse than the physical damage.

There was a short moment of confusion after that, because the powerful Severing Wave-Technique had forced his enemies to evade and break their formation and he had been pushed several steps back, right back into the centre of their now somewhat oddly shaped circle.

From there the dance went to its second round. He was already sweating heavily as he dodged and avoided enemy attacks without really being able to do something himself. With the taijutsu fighter taking a backseat after his injury their teamwork had improved immensely. Or maybe the strategist had implemented a new formation? It didn't really matter why, what mattered was that he was effectively stuck.

Did they try to make him turn his back to the kunoichi – threat number two – or was it just great timing that whenever he got the chance to take one of them out, they moved in a way that he'd have to open himself up for a counterattack from her? Whatever it was, it was frustrating. Maybe he should just ignore his instincts and risk it. If he didn't take the risk, sooner or later, they'd wear him out, he could already feel his chakra depleting.

At least, most of them weren't fast enough to actually land a bad hit at him. He had taken a kick in the stomach, that he had chosen to just absorb, because there had been no way to avoid without worsening the situation, and then there had been a few needles and kunai that had grazed him, because he hadn't seen them coming soon enough.

He would risk it, he decided suddenly as he got his first and maybe final chance to strike at the strategist. Steeling himself for an attack from behind he twisted around and with hardly any trouble whatsoever severed the head off the man's torso. For a split second he triumphed. That hadn't been that difficult, it was hard to believe how long he had struggled to even get that far. Then before he even managed to fully turn around and somewhat block the attack coming from behind something hit him hard, fast, explosive and hot from the side.

He stumbled sideways to avoid the brunt of the attack, but it still hurt like hell when he hardly even had a second to glance down at himself and assess the damage. His flak jacket was pretty much blown in pieces, his skin below it scorched. This was …

He quickly jumped back as he saw the kunoichi attack him again, earth, dust and fire exploding where he had just stood. He only now realized that the moment the kunoichi had attacked everybody else aside from the swordsman – threat number one – had quickly put some distance between themselves and the duel.

He didn't dare to focus on them, though. The woman was not finished, and he did not fancy being hit point blank by her Explosion Release. Because that was what it was, there was no doubt about it. He'd never fought anybody from Iwagakure's Explosion Corps, but he'd read about them and there were quite a few pages in his Bingo Book about their members. Of course, he couldn't see her face, so he didn't know if she was in the book as well … however, judging by her strength she deserved to be.

Her style wasn't very fancy. She just threw what looked like earth- or mudballs at him and they exploded on impact. It wasn't fancy … but definitely deadly. He tried to avoid them all, but it was difficult. He had to end this before she'd destroy the entire battlefield and take him out with it. So, the next time she threw one of her mudballs at him he pushed forward, ran straight past the mudball and learned the painful way, that they did not need to explode on impact but that she could activate them whenever she pleased. It was only his speed that saved him, as she hadn't been fast enough with activating the bomb, else she'd have probably blown his head off. This way, it exploded at his back and ripped his shoulder open, the shock of the explosion catapulted him forward instead of stopping him in his tracks as she might have hoped. He didn't have much control over his movement as he crashed into her.

Then, all dignity was lost, as they scrambled over the ground, kicking earth and dried leaves and each of them trying to deal a devastating blow. He had lost his sword in the explosion, so instead he used his piercing lightning chakra right at his fingertips. She on the other hand seemed to desperately try and get some distance to not get caught in her own explosion.

"Back off!" she suddenly screamed. "Back off, or we'll die together!"

He only had a moment to realize that she had turned the earth they were rolling over into a bomb. She was willing to take him out with herself if he didn't step back. Then again … it wasn't like he planned to survive this fight, and if she was so nice as to take herself out, he wouldn't complain.

"Two seconds," she warned trying to get a kunai and attack him with it. He didn't back down. And then she started panicking. She'd been bluffing, he realized.

She was very much not willing to die right here and now, but she couldn't stop the explosion know. So instead she tried to scramble away. There was a lot a shinobi could do in a single second. Sakumo could kill up to three Genin or Chunin level opponents in a single second, for example. Of course, only when they were all positioned nicely … She …? Well, she could at least try to get out of her own death trap. As if he'd let her.

In the last moment before the world exploded around him, he activated his raiton shield over his entire body and tried to flash away himself as fast as he could. He just barely avoided the epicentre of the explosion, it still hit him with crushing force, hurled him back a few yards and tossed him unceremoniously back on the hard ground. His shield faded immediately, leaving his body bloody and scorched on the surface but still surprisingly intact.

He grunted and groaned in pain. As he tried to push himself up again pain flared through an obviously broken wrist and rib. His body wasn't working as it should and his eyesight was shifting and twirling in front of him. He hardly even recognized the figures around him, but they were coming closer.

He couldn't just lay here and let himself get killed off! He quickly assessed the state of his body and chakra. There was still fight left in him. The raiton-shield had cost a decent junk of his chakra, but it was still nowhere near depleted. The chakra-shield aside he didn't really use any chakra heavy techniques and as always, he was glad for his tight chakra control.

He managed to search in his pouch for a painkilling pill and a blood replenisher and swallowed them both before someone kicked him in the stomach making him grunt again. He wished he'd have time to look for the energy pill, too, but that had to wait for another chance to catch a breath.

He grunted as he was kicked again. The pills were helping fast, as always, so when they grabbed him at the wrists to drag him upright, he was already able to defend himself again. The painkillers were working good enough that he could twist his hurt wrist out of their grasp and blindly kick at them. A moment later as they backed off, he was back on his own two feet.

"Still able to fight?" someone asked gleefully and a glance in the voice's direction showed the swordsman that had kept to the background all this time. "He is mine."

Had he waited all this time, just to look if Sakumo was even worth for him to fight himself? Sakumo knew of those shinobi, arrogant pricks, that thought they were the epitome of the ninja arts and didn't care for their comrades' lives in their quest to look for a worthy opponent. He knew it then … This man had only waited whether or not Sakumo could kill the Explosion User to now take over the fight himself. It didn't matter to the man that Sakumo was nowhere near his peak.

"You just want to take the credit for all the work Hiroko has put in," one of the other masked shinobi accused aggressively.

The swordsman just shrugged nonchalantly. "You can have him, if you want," he gave in with a gleeful smirk, "you can give us a good show."

The shinobi backed down then, obviously not fancying his chance against even a heavily injured Sakumo. He made the smart choice, Sakumo thought. Sakumo wanted to fight this man. This piece of shit with his swords who didn't care one bit for his comrades. One glance around proofed to him, that the shinobi facing him stood divided. Some leaned back confidently waiting for the swordsman to start the fight, the body language of some of the others spoke of enmity and disapproval the way one of them had already voiced.

"Well then," the swordsman said drawing both his swords at once. They weren't just swords, Sakumo realized for the first time, now. They were … he knew them, had seen them in pictures. Twin swords, thin steel with fang-like spikes growing from the blade. Sakumo was a swordsman himself, so of course he knew the famous swords of the Seven Ninja Swordsman of the Mist. This was Kiba, so this man was its wielder: Ikuto of the Mist.

Iwa's Explosion Corps and Kiri's Seven Ninja Swordsman. So, now he knew who had joined forces here to take out Uzushiogakure – who had allied against Konoha. He glanced from Ikuto to the men and women around him … Such a shame, he won't survive to give the intel to his village. Maybe … if he could somehow find a moment, use another Kuchiyose and tell the ninja hounds. With his death, Sanae would inherit them. She already knew how to summon them even if she didn't normally use them on missions. Maybe the summons could tell her and … But that was all only a vague plan. For now, he needed to survive long enough to even think about implementing such a plan.

"You're Ikuto of the Seven Ninja Swordsman," Sakumo started to catch a moment's breath. How much time had passed since he had left Choza and the others behind? He was sure he had had run and avoided his opponents for almost two hours. The fight so far hadn't taken that long. His fights never took long, no matter whether he won or lost, he moved fast and to counter him, his opponents also had to act fast. Dragged out fights – more often than not – were the end of him and his limited chakra reserves.

"And you're the one they call the White Fang." The man smiled behind his mask, Sakumo was sure of it. "Or rather, it's your blade, isn't it? I'm sure you've read about my sword, Kiba. Let's see who has the sharper fang. Your Shiroi Kiba or my Kiba."

"You like to hear yourself talk," Sakumo noted amusedly. There was an angry grunt from Ikuto. "Well, you would be wrong." He raised his tanto just a bit. "This sword has no name. It's been in my family for generations, but unlike your Kiba it is not the sword that makes the wielder famous, but the other way around." He smiled a bit triumphantly as Ikuto growled furiously the insult not going past him. "I could use any chakra bladed tanto and my skill would be the same. You on the other hand … you can't even wield your lightning without your Kiba, can you?"

He didn't even know if it was true, but he had successfully managed to rile the swordsman up, now … he only had to kill him; easier said than done. But he knew he could do it. The man was a swordsman and he used lightning. Sakumo was sure that if he were at his best, he'd be better at both. He wasn't at his best now, and Ikuto hadn't even started to fight, yet. So, he had to make it smart, wait for his opportunity and keep the man riled up, make him do easy mistakes. Ikuto had a temper, he was arrogant and a talker, that much was clear from the start. He was also cruel and a bit of a sadist like almost all the Seven Ninja Swordsman of the Mist – at least if the Bingo Book profiles, Sakumo still remembered, were anything to go by. It seemed like cruelty and sadism was something almost required to be a member of that exclusive club of Mist shinobi. He could use that too, he assumed. At least the man wouldn't straight up kill him but draw it out a bit more than strictly necessary.

He sidestepped the first attack, easily done because Ikuto was brash and angry. Shortly after that, though, he calmed down, and it got more difficult to avoid his attacks. He was fast, strong and unlike Sakumo still fit. Sakumo on the other hand was hurting despite the pain killers and exhausted to a point that he had problems even concentrating. He was moving slower than normal and soon he found himself on the defensive. He was glad the others had taken to just watching the fight from a distance as they had when he had fought the Explosion User.

He blocked Ikuto's Kiba with his tanto and though it was not the first time their swords met, this time the Kiri-nin had the presence of mind to push his chakra into his blade. Powerful lightning danced along the blade then to Sakumo's horror his own white chakra blade conducted the opponents lightning chakra to its hilt. Sakumo couldn't help but scream as he was suddenly electrocuted by his opponent's blade's raiton. He retracted immediately but Ikuto came after him with a vengeance lightning flaring around him and his blades. Sakumo might use raiton himself and even regularly let his own raiton rush through his body, but he was not immune to its effect and he did not have the chakra resources left to activate another lightning shield.

He stumbled further back and tried to increase the distance to avoid the dancing thunder around his opponent, but Ikuto didn't let him out of his range for even a second. He didn't even dare to block the next strike with his tanto so instead he used a kunai using his own lightning chakra to block the conducting lightning at the palm of his hand. His kunai wasn't strong enough to hold, so it snapped in two. It was the best Sakumo could do to divert the blade's path away from him. He let go of the broken Kunai and ducked under the second sword flashing over his shoulder. The Lightning prickled at his burned back. He sidestepped another attack and flashed back to avoid the next. It was all he could do, to keep up with Ikuto. His reaction speed was still faster but that aside … He was losing, he realized. Damn it, was he in such bad shape? He regularly won against Jiraiya, Orochimaru and Tsunade and they were stronger than this guy, he was sure of it. But now … all he could do, was avoid being hit, all the while the periphery lightning lashed out at him, scorched his skin and muscle as if Hiroko the Explosion User earlier, hadn't burned his body enough already.

"Is that all you can do?" asked Ikuto gleefully lashing out at him again. Sakumo ducked under the attack but then as he stepped back, he tripped over a root and Ikuto attacked in exactly that moment.

He could have killed him right then and there, Sakumo thought, but instead, just as Sakumo had assumed he would, he dragged it out, pierced his shoulder instead of his heart and pushed just enough lightning chakra through his blade that it would make Sakumo scream and his muscles cramp beyond his control but not enough to kill him. Sakumo crumpled to his knees, one of the twin blades still stuck in his shoulder. Keeping his breath in control was difficult, controlling his fingers that were still twitching from lightning was even more difficult, but apparently, he was in luck. Maybe, Ikuto thought he had already won and didn't expect Sakumo to even try and fight anymore. Sakumo was sure that was the only reason why the Hatake even managed to finish the finger signs for his mudwall. He couldn't remember ever taking this long for a simple jutsu like this one.

Ikuto screamed in fury as the mudwall suddenly rose between him and his already as good as defeated opponent. His lightning enhanced blades easily cut through the mudwall, destroyed it almost the instant Sakumo had erected it. And then both blades pierced Sakumo's chest at once. Ikuto wasn't playing anymore. But Sakumo had known that playtime was over.

His lightning clone flared before Ikuto's incredulous eyes and then dissolved in a sudden strike of thunder. Just like Sakumo's chakra blades had conducted Ikuto's lightning attacks, Ikuto's chakra blades conducted Sakumo's lightning just as well … if not better. After all, they were created to enhance any form of lightning chakra they came into contact with. Ikuto stood in stunned surprise as his blades suddenly surrounded him with powerful lightning that wasn't his own, but the last of Sakumo's chakra. It was the most basic and repeatedly used trick in Sakumo's book, and with the right timing it was also one of his most effective ones. Unlike the Kagebunshin the Lightning Clone dissolved more easily and was limited to using lightning techniques only, above all, they didn't share their experience with the original. However, the added effect of stunning your opponent was the reason he always preferred them in a fight.

Sakumo flashed behind Ikuto and shoved his tanto into the man's back where the heart was, all the way to the hilt. The body just slid off the hilt as Ikuto crumpled lifelessly to the forest ground.

That was it … He had defeated … or … well, somewhat survived two S-rank shinobi and killed some more that were anywhere from chunin to high jonin level. It wasn't exactly his best fight, he thought, certainly not his fanciest one. And he looked and felt like shit, now. But he guessed it was a decent enough way to go out.

He turned around still standing and blade in hand, slick with a mixture of his own blood and all the enemies he had killed and cut today. His blade, hair and skin were mostly red, now. His clothes were almost completely burned or cut off his torso. He was just waiting for them to take him out. It should be an easy thing at this point. He was sure even a pre-genin could push him over the edge, now. But instead they just stared at him forming a semicircle around the Konoha shinobi advancing slowly and with caution. They had obviously learned from Ikuto's death to not underestimate him.

He gripped his tanto before it could slip through his slick fingers. Maybe he could … But thinking about it was useless as he couldn't even clearly see them as they approached him, and although he saw the punch coming, his reflexes were slowed to a point he couldn't even raise his hand in time, never mind actually block it.

He stumbled backwards but – through sheer luck – there was a tree right there, so he leaned against it, braced himself with both hands and stayed upright. Not for long, though, as someone kicked his legs out from under him. He crashed to the ground, groaning as he instinctively tried to catch his weight with his injured hand.

"Where is the girl?" Somebody grabbed him at the shoulders and pushed his back upright against the tree behind him. He blinked at the figures around him. It was the Taijutsu specialist who was talking. Looking around at the people Sakumo had killed he assumed that man was now the highest-ranking shinobi left. He had killed the four of them he had identified as the biggest threat and managed to kill a fifth as well as injured another few of them. Still seven left … but most of them seemed Chunin or low tier Jonin level. So maybe that Taijutsu guy was the strongest now, despite his injury.

"Where is the Jinchuriki?" he repeated his question a bit more rudely gripping Sakumo harshly around the injured shoulder.

Right, he thought, he still had to summon one of his dogs and … warn the Hokage about the Iwa-Kiri-Alliance. He had to … He moved his hands to form trembling finger signs not caring for the rough grip around his shoulder nor the fact that the grip was now tightening cruelly. He didn't even have a single sign formed when someone kicked his hands apart. Sakumo kicked back blindly in anger and was surprised when he actually hit. He tried to form the Kuchiyose finger signs again. This time he was punched in the face … no use.

"What do you want with her?" he asked remembering their questions.

"Where is the girl?" the Taijutsu specialist repeated, ignoring Sakumo's own question. It was a stupid question anyway. He knew what they wanted from her. The Kyuubi.

"Is that why you attacked Uzushiogakure?"

They punched him again. "We're asking the questions here! Where did you leave her?"

"No …" Sakumo thought aloud. "That couldn't be it. You … How would you even know, she was here? Only Konoha Jonin with high security clearance would know about her visit to her family." Right, he thought. How had they known about her being here? Was there a traitor, or …? Even more so … "Which village would get the Kyuubi, anyway?" He thought about this for a moment.

Again, he was punched in the face to make him stop talking but he didn't. Once all this was over, he was sure, they'd retract his traces and although he had tried not to leave obvious tracks to the cave where his team hid, he hadn't had the time to concentrate on it. So … any moment he could win here, his team could use to recuperate a bit more of their strength and leave for Konoha.

"Don't tell me, Kiri and Iwa actually agreed upon which village should get the Kyuubi after all this is over?" He saw the distrusting glances they threw at each other and nodded. "Ah, so you didn't agree about it, yet? What, you'll just deal with it in time?" He grunted in pain as he shifted a bit and his broken rib uncomfortably pushed against his lungs. He coughed violently.

He still had energy pills left, he suddenly thought. He hadn't taken any so far. He had taken blood replenishers and pain killers, though … taking too many of those pills could give him a heart attack. Then again, he'd die anyway. Coughing he hunched in on himself and exaggerated his coughing while reaching for his pouch. Suddenly there was a kick to his stomach making him cough again and this time completely earnestly and without faking it. There was a kunai to his throat.

"Take the hand away from that pouch … very slowly!" A female voice hissed. He pushed the small energy pill he had between his fingers under the cloth of his protective glove and slowly pulled his hand out of the pouch. They were obviously tense, fearing he'd draw a weapon and their faces deflated in relief as there was no weapon.

He was breathing heavily now and could taste the blood in the back of his throat, but at least it felt like a tiny victory. If he'd manage to take the pill, without them just killing him … he'd have enough strength for another round.

"So, you didn't come for the girl, did you?" he asked in between his heavy breaths. "You came for …"

This time, when he was kicked against the head, he couldn't just ignore it anymore. His head hurt with a cruel head ache blooming behind his forehead and in the back of his head. He could hardly see straight, and he felt like puking. He was losing consciousness, he realized.


	30. Formation: Ino-Shika-Cho!

**Formation: Ino-Shika-Cho! The 15** **th** **Generation**

"He's almost gone," one of them said. "Let's just track his way back to wherever he left the others. They are just kids. Shouldn't be too hard."

No …, he couldn't let them go after his team just now.

"Just cut his throat and be done with it."

He felt the blade at his throat, when something suddenly changed. There was a familiar scent he couldn't place quite yet.

"Something is wrong," the man with the kunai at Sakumo's throat suddenly said and backed off.

"What do you … just kill him!" said a kunoichi and stepped towards Sakumo to do it herself, but suddenly stopped, when Sakumo pushed himself to his feet. He was surprised himself and they seemed to be suddenly shitting themselves at the idea that he might suddenly have recovered his strength. But Sakumo hadn't … his body just suddenly moved on his own … Oh …

Suddenly it clicked, and he knew what was happening, and he hoped it wasn't. They hadn't really come after him, right? There were still seven opponents left and without Shikaku's Kagemane holding him upright he couldn't even stand. Instead, his sight was tilting and his stomach churning. He … was about to throw up, but with Shikaku's hold on his body he stayed perfectly upright as he heaved and vomited all over himself.

"What's going on?" the taijutsu specialist asked uncertainly. "He's almost unconscious. How is he standing?" They were just seconds away from figuring it out, Sakumo thought. They'd remember the time when Shikaku had used the Kagemane on them just hours before and the Nara clan and its secret technique were quite famous. They'd figure it out any moment from now, and then …

But suddenly the guy who had made to cut his throat suddenly turned around and attacked his own comrades. The timing was immaculate. Perfect. Inoichi had taken over by far the weakest of their opponents, but his timing had been good enough to take out the strongest of them with a blade through the chest.

The Taijutsu Specialist was crumpled on the floor before they even realized what was happening. Then a fight erupted among themselves. No! Sakumo's mind screamed as he saw three swords at once impaling the shinobi Inoichi had taken over. Inoichi had defended himself and hurt another of their opponents but … Sakumo's mind was working too slowly for his own comfort. Had Inoichi deactivated the Jutsu in time? Or had he just seen his student die in front of his eyes?

Suddenly the Kagemane lost its grip on Sakumo and he crashed back to the ground on his knees, dry heaving as his concussion and the sudden movement made his stomach turn once again. He hadn't fought against Shikaku's jutsu. Had the Nara's chakra run out? He didn't know … He could smell them, that scent he had recognized it had been them. But he didn't have enough strength left to sense if they were still alive of if he was just smelling their corpses.

The energy pill, he thought suddenly.

"Baika no Jutsu," he heard Choza's voice from his hiding place. Then suddenly Choza grew thrice his normal size putting all his strength in his famous clan technique. "Human Bullet Tank!"

He was just rolling at their remaining enemies at full speed while Sakumo was only watching in disbelief. But then as a kunoichi made to impale Choza on a katana and as Sakumo screamed in despair and fear, Choza's big body suddenly snapped back as if on a powerful string pulling back. This … They had trained this, he remembered suddenly. Choza's powerful taijutsu with Shikaku's shadows moving him and Inoichi's sensory prowess leading the combination. They were all three still alive. Not just that … it was the first time he actually saw them use any sort of effective teamwork in a fight that was not in training.

He was proud.

He was also not delusional, no matter how close he was to unconsciousness. They wouldn't win. All their teamwork couldn't make them overpower five enemies of whom each was more powerful than them. He would have to pull himself together one last time … for today at least, because suddenly he knew he could survive this day.

He quickly swallowed his energy pill and almost threw it back up immediately but managed to keep it down barely. He didn't even think about searching for his tanto among the many weapons and dead bodies clattered on the ground. Instead he just mobilized the replenished chakra right away.

He felt … almost like on a high. Maybe it was the pill, but he assumed it actually was the extasy of fighting alongside his team and knowing that they were holding their own among a group of Chunin and Jonin who were trying to kill them. They had saved his life. There was no arguing about that.

Choza's human bullet crushed a kunoichi against a tree almost uprooting it and knocking her out cleanly. Sakumo himself had his lightning claws activated and had ripped open a man's throat with a single powerful swipe ripping his mask clean off. Then he used a futon jutsu to attack one of the opponents evading Choza's attack. He doubted the man died, but he lost so much blood that he soon lost consciousness. When he turned around it was suddenly over.

Choza had knocked the last two out, maybe even killed one of them, Sakumo thought with a glance at the mangled body.

No … Not Choza …. Ino-Shika-Cho. They finally were the formation they were meant to be even long before they had even joined their Genin team.

He stared over their dead, dying and unconscious opponents and then he knelt to finally retrieve his sword. He didn't even clean the blade for now, tired and hurt as he was.

He looked up, as Inoichi and Shikaku stepped from their hiding place, joining Choza. "Thanks guys," Sakumo breathed, "that was amazing. You saved my life there."

They stood right in front of him, looking at him as if he'd done something bad. He frowned at their judgemental glares. What was going on?

"Yeah, we did," said Choza, crossing his arms. "Can't believe you thought, we wouldn't be of any help."

"That's not what I said," he defended himself. At least it hadn't been what he had wanted to say.

"Right," mumbled Choza sarcastically.

"Two of you were out for the count," he argued because it didn't look like they believed him. "Did you take energy pills to get your strength back in time."

"You're not telling us it was a mistake, are you?" asked Shikaku scowling.

He wouldn't say that. It wasn't like he had a death wish. He was quite thankful and impressed for what they'd done for him. "What about Kushina?" he asked.

"Back there." Shikaku pointed to where they came from. "We thought if push came to shove, we'd wake her up and let them deal with a rampant Kyuubi." He grinned a bit exasperatedly. Sakumo doubted he had any idea what a rampant Kyuubi meant … he didn't really know himself.

"You did great," he admitted not even trying to point out, why he didn't like the idea of freeing the Kyuubi.

"We did." That was Inoichi. "However, you're a piece of shit."

Sakumo stared at him not sure whether he was staring because of the rude language or because of the insult. "What …?" He started a bit offended.

"You tell us your great tales about never leaving anybody behind and then you demand we just leave you behind, or what?" Sakumo stared for a second than he couldn't help but smile brightly.

"I also said that I'd accept someone's sacrifice."

"Yeah, I remember what you said. You said, you'd only accept it, if the person was truly willing to sacrifice, right? Choza and Shikaku told me what you said. There was nothing like that."

Sakumo blushed a bit behind the dried blood and dirt on his face. They had really been listening, he realized happily. He hadn't though teaching his students his ways would end up saving his own life. They had come back for him. The thought made him all queasy inside. Or maybe the queasiness was from his nausea returning full force now that the energy pill was waning.

"Finer things in life …," Inoichi muttered and punched Sakumo in the stomach.

Sakumo was just glad he didn't start vomiting again. But he started feeling worse every second.

"We should treat your injuries," Shikaku said after a moment. "You … that is not all your blood, right?"

"No", Sakumo said. "Don't worry. We'll have to go back. Kiri and Iwa have allied against us; the Hokage needs to know." He made his way to where they had told him Kushina was hidden. But before he even reached her, he suddenly slumped unconscious.


	31. Mission Success is not Enough

**Mission Success is not enough**

His subconscious, he assumed, was the only reason he woke up again that same day. He had been on full alert, body and mind, and the danger was not yet completely over, so maybe that had been the reason why his subconscious, or his instinct … or maybe his chakra, whatever flimsy reserves he had left, dragged him back to the world of the living so soon. Else, he didn't think he'd have woken up within the next few days without outside help. He had made similar experiences before, as if in war his body was prepared to stay alert at all time and never let him sleep long, even if it was necessary.

So, when he opened his eyes again, he was immediately on full alert. He assessed the situation – they were hidden between bushes with dried brown autumn leaves and there was the scent of the near sea in the air. Near enough that they had to be on the coast. Shikaku, Inoichi and Choza were right there, with the girl Kushina still unmoving. The three boys seemed leisurely enough, despite obviously keeping an eye on their surroundings, so at least they thought there was no enemy nearby and they were safe, at least for now. Inoichi was a sensor … and he had gotten a lot better those last weeks, so surely, he'd know?

Sakumo couldn't smell nor sense anybody either, but he didn't exactly have the reserves left to spend too much chakra on sensory techniques. He'd have to trust Inoichi for now.

So, they were good, huh? Safe, at least at the moment. He let his head fall back upon the soft earth under him and exhale tiredly.

Only now with the tension gone, did his body's current state return to him with full force and excruciating pain. He grunted in sudden agony.

The sound made his team turn around and stare at him with varying degrees of disbelieve in their faces.

"You're awake!" Choza was a bit too loud for his comfort. "We weren't …", the Akimichi was suddenly crying and throwing himself at the Hatake, tightly – almost painfully – hugging his chest. Sakumo was almost overwhelmed by the pain the sudden weight caused his broken body. "We thought you'd die!" He cried into Sakumo's bare chest. "And we …" There was a violent hiccup. "W-we … We don't have a medic anywhere. So, we d-didn't know, wh-what to do."

"There, there", Sakumo tried to calm the boy but he hardly found the strength to lift his hand and pat the Akimichi's upper arm. "Careful."

"Oh", Choza mumbled. "Sorry." He shifted his weight away from Sakumo and then knelt beside him.

"We didn't think you'd wake up so soon", said Inoichi who had moved to crouch on his other side, looking him over. There were dark shadows under his eyes where Choza's were puffy with tears.

Shikaku only grunted but as Sakumo looked at him he seemed relieved. Maybe they had actually doubted that he'd wake up at all.

"Nah, why the long faces? I'm fine." He winced as exactly that moment a horrible burning pain seared through his body. Really, he felt as if he'd been skinned alive and he feared it wasn't that far from the truth. He remembered the Explosion release scorching and burning half his body and the lighting only making it worse. "I will be, anyway", he added more truthfully because he really wasn't fine, and he probably didn't look like it, either.

"How long was I out?" He hoped it wasn't too long, but by the dawning light in the east it had to have been hours.

"It's morning. About five hours I think. It's a miracle your even alive … never mind already awake again." Inoichi pointedly looked away as if not to show how much he cared. It was really quite endearing.

"Damn", cursed Sakumo. "Sorry, I left you with the burden of my unconscious body." He lifted his hand and noticed the bandages not for the first time. "And thanks for treating my wounds."

"You need a medic not just some first aid." That was Inoichi again. "And don't even start with that 'burden'-crap."

"Language", muttered Sakumo, which made Inoichi almost sputter and then shut up.

"We're still in the land of whirlpools", the Hatake noted after a moment.

"Couldn't drag you out into the open to get a boat and set sail. They'd find us and just kill us", Shikaku noted the obvious. "They are still roaming around everywhere, but I think the fighting has died down."

Sakumo nodded. "We should get off this island before daylight." He doubted they'd be able to hide that easily during the day - never mind get to the coast and find a boat unseen. It was either leave now or try and stay hidden until the enemies gave up searching this area and left … or until the reinforcements from Konoha would arrive.

"I know", muttered Shikaku giving him a pointed look.

Ah … so his unconscious body had been a burden even if they didn't admit it. Getting off this island was one thing, dragging him and Kushina along with them … well, it just made it all the more difficult.

"Anybody in the vicinity?", he asked because although he didn't smell nor sense anybody he didn't entirely trust his senses at the moment.

Inoichi shook his head curtly.

"Then let's go." He tried to push into an upright sitting position and was almost keeling over immediately. He didn't even know if it was from pain, exhaustion or chakra depletion. For a moment he crouched on all four to catch his breath and get a grip on himself.

"Sensei!", cried Choza in shock.

"Stop it", that was Inoichi, "this is ridiculous."

He was probably right, but it was necessary anyway. They had to leave. "Yeah …", he only mumbled. "Well, instead of amusing yourself on my costs, search for a boat."

"We have a boat … more or less."

Sakumo looked up at Shikaku's comment. "That's good news."

"Still need to get it." He nodded somewhat to the north along the coast. "There's a fisher village. I think they were attacked like all the others, but there should still be boats left, right?"

So, it was more of a vague guess. They didn't really have a boat, yet. Well, it was the best they had, so Sakumo didn't argue. "Race you there", he grinned tiredly and then finally pushed to his feet.

Inoichi looked infuriated, Shikaku rolled his eyes, but Choza grinned happily. He was so easy to please.

"Come on, move, or I'll leave you behind." Sakumo added as none of them even moved a muscle. Then he just left them where they were, pushing the bit of chakra he had just recovered in blissful unconsciousness, to accelerate his speed and basically throw himself through the woods and towards the village.

Sometimes … using his chakra to run fast was easier than actually moving. He was nowhere near as fast as normal, nor did he have much control on his movements. He was sure that Inoichi, Choza and Shikaku were only close behind him and he hoped one of them had thought to carry Kushina. But at the moment he had no strength to look and make sure. It was all he could do to keep moving and part of him was sure it was more sheer physics rather than his body and chakra that kept him running. Fictitious force, he thought, maybe …

In fact, there was a tiny village at the coast, but he only saw blurs of it. He heard Inoichi's voice at one point, leading them to the direction of a boat he had found. And then at some point there was someone's arm … Inoichi or Shikaku, he guessed, stabilizing him for the last few steps, before he fell sideways into the fishing vessel they let him to.

"I hope you can row", he joked blindly to whoever was closest as they pushed the vessel out into the salty sea, the seawater and salt itching and burning on his flesh.

Afterwards he couldn't remember for the life of him whether he'd been awake or unconscious during the boat ride. He thought he remembered the way the waves moved their boat or the pain of salty water in open wounds. He thought he remembered the sun rise and his team talking quietly among themselves or to him. However, the next moment of real clarity only came hours later under a cloudy autumn sky sometime around noon with solid ground moving under his fingers.

They had made a wooden contraption … like a wooden plank, he thought in his mushy and sleepy brain. A plank that he laid upon and that they dragged behind themselves. He only vaguely recognized Kushina still slumped over Choza's back.

He didn't remember doing much other than groaning in pain, staring at the sky and then going back under into deep painless slumber.

They must have found the reinforcements sent from Konoha or another group of Konoha shinobi because the next time he woke up – and he was sure it was still the same day – he was under scrutiny of a group of medics who made to heal his many wounds. He went back to sleep then, and finally he stayed asleep until his body would recover most of its strength. As always, being treated by a medic gave him some sort of security and his body and instincts shut down with the relief that he wasn't in constant danger anymore and in need to stay sharply alert.

He went back to sleep and as he woke up again his body's state had vastly improved. He still felt a bit exhausted and drained, but his wounds were mostly healed. He was back in Konoha and he felt like he would fall right back asleep, but he forced his eyes open.

He wasn't alone in the room and the person he found sitting on his bedside chair looking tired and worried was someone he hadn't expected.

"Inori-sama", he mumbled the name groggily. What kinds of drugs had they given him? His brain and tongue felt like wrapped in cotton.

The Yamanaka Clan head suddenly looked up at him with wide green eyes – so like his son's.

There was a long moment of quiet between the two. Sakumo didn't know what to say or what to ask, his mind was only slowly catching up to his reality and apparently Inori didn't have much to say even though he looked like there was a lot on his mind.

Suddenly the blond stood up and moved towards the door. Before opening the door, though, he turned around and looked at Sakumo.

"Thank you, Hatake-san. I'll tell your team you're awake."

Sakumo stared after him for a moment, wondering what he had been thanking him for. His cotton mind was working only slowly, but he finally came to the conclusion that Inori had not expected for all of Sakumo's team to come out of this alive. Sakumo had not thought about this, but as Inori had sent his son's team on this mission he might not have had another option. He had the authority, responsibility and obligation to do everything in his power to help Uzushiogakure and keep Kushina safe. Sending Sakumo's team out … Inori must have feared he signed his own son's death sentence or soon had to inform his closest friends of their children's demise on the mission he'd assigned to them.

By the time Sakumo's slow mind had caught up to that, Inori was already out of the door and in his stead the three boys appeared looking a bit nervous but obviously relieved.

Team 11 only stayed at his bedside for an hour or so. Inoichi and Choza got into a fight about … something, Sakumo hadn't really been able to keep up with the situation, and a nurse had shooed all three of them out, leaving Sakumo alone with himself.

Later that day, the Hokage arrived.

"You know, normally I prefer for my shinobi to come to me after the mission to give me their report. With you, I have the feeling it's always me having to go looking for you in the hospital." The Hokage smiled at him and quickly flipped through the datasheet one of the Doctors had left behind. "You were supposed to rest and recover your strength for a few months, so you'd be fit for service in March. Now, I think your in worse condition than two months ago."

Sakumo assumed that was a correct assessment. Although he did feel very thoroughly heeled, he could also feel the numb aches of his body where the pain was only held at bay by strong pain medications. "I doubt I'll take long to heal", he said, nonetheless. It felt like mostly flesh wounds. A few broken bones, but his organs felt alright, and he could still wiggle with all his toes and fingers.

"So, I hear", the Hokage admitted after a moment, before looking up at Sakumo. "What happened there?"

"Mission objective was the extraction of Kushina Uzumaki. Mission success", he started, trying not to think about all he lives lost. "We arrived …", he didn't know how much time had passed, he realized, "we arrived on Thursday in Uzushiogakure, after trailing am unknown enemy for three days the way from Border Checkpoint 7 between Yu no Kuni and Hi no Kuni to Uzushiogakure." Sakumo frowned as he tried to remember the details. "The trails suggested that the enemy counted at least 50 Shinobi and must have come from the west, possibly Iwagakure. When we arrived in Uzushiogakure, though, the destruction and what we could see from the battle proofed that there were more enemies. The same was later confirmed by the second Uzushiokage." Sakumo shook his head. "When we arrived …"

He went on reporting what they saw upon arrival, his meeting with the Uzushiokage and how they had extracted Kushina and left Uzushiogakure. When he came to the point where he started describing his own battles with the enemy, Hiruzen first cut in.

"Hiroko of Iwagakure's Explosion Corps and Ikuto of the Mist?" Hiruzen repeated the names of the two strongest opponents Sakumo had faced that day. "And you're positive about their identities?"

Sakumo nodded. "I myself couldn't identify Hiroko, but the name was used by one of the other Shinobi. I am however certain, that she was indeed a member of the Explosion Corps. Her ninjutsu gave her away. I'm absolutely positive about Ikuto's identity."

Hiruzen nodded. The sour expression on his face proved that he came to the same conclusion Sakumo had drawn. There was an alliance between Kiri and Iwa against Konoha and its allies. And alliance Konoha's own spies in the two nations hadn't known about. "Go on."

"I lost consciousness after the fight. I can't accurately say what happened afterwards."

Hiruzen nodded. "We already have a provisory report by Inoichi Yamanaka", the Hokage informed him. He finally put the datasheet on Sakumo's physical state down. "You did good work out there."

"What happened … after my fight?" Sakumo asked suddenly.

"Our troupes arrived to late. We found your Team at the shore of Hi no Kuni, making your way towards Konoha." The Hokage sat on a lone chair in the room. "The medics took care of all of you. Mostly you, though. Kushina was unharmed. Inoichi and Shikaku suffered severe chakra exhaustion and Choza had a sprained ankle. They are all fine, now."

"I know. I've seen them. What about Uzushiogakure?" He dreaded the answer, but he had to know.

"While you and your team were taken care of and sent back to Konoha", the Hokage went on calmly, "our troupes crossed the sea and arrived in Uzushiogakure an hour after they found you. The enemy had already mostly left the area by that point. We managed to capture three enemies from Iwagakure that were still roaming the area looking for you."

"What about the village?" Sakumo got increasingly impatient. He felt like Sarutobi was avoiding his questions which seemed so unlike the hardened warrior.

"Uzushiogakure was completely destroyed to the point. We … we found several groups of civilians hiding in the ruins, mostly families with young children or elderly who weren't mobile enough to flee the scene." Sakumo nodded, understanding. "We …" At this point the Hokage hesitated uncharacteristically. "We could not find any large groups of survivors or refugees."

Sakumo started at that. "What about the Nidaime Uzushiokage?", he asked aloud. "He wanted to flee the village with the last of his army."

The Sarutobi was quiet for a moment. "He did not make it", he admitted finally, "it looks like none of them did."

What? "What?" he stared in disbelief, in shock. "But …" They were fine! Hadn't they separated ways precisely, so the enemies focus would be split between Sakumo's team and them? To give them a chance? There had been so many enemies running after Sakumo, he had been sure the Uzushiokage had enough men with him to make it to the coast and flee or hide or … survive, at least.

"As far as we can tell, they were attacked on their way out of the village. The few that arrived at the coast where picked off there. I assume now, that those were Kiri-forces making sure none would leave from that side of the island."

"Nobody survived?"

"We're still looking for survivors", the Hokage hurried to say, but then his face fell. "But so far it looks like the only people who survived where civilians with no chakra signature for the enemy to track."

Sakumo couldn't help the guilt choking him. He had been there. Why … by all the gods, why had he been there in the first place if he couldn't do anything? They had helped him escape, and what had he done for them? "I should have done more", he mumbled more to himself than the Hokage.

He hadn't realized that he had spoken aloud until he felt the Hokage's hand on his shoulder. Sakumo was somewhat glad, that Sarutobi didn't negate his thoughts, didn't try to deny it or tell him that he had done his best. He just sat there quietly with a comforting hand on Sakumo before he suddenly stood up.

"We have lost our most trusted ally this week", he declared finally. "They were our oldest and truest friends, yet in their days of need, Konoha was no there to help." The Sarutobi shook his head sadly. "We all should have done more."

When the Hokage left him, Sakumo felt suddenly very weak, as if he had sapped all the strength out of him. He was tired. He needed to train, he thought. He was still not strong enough. An entire village had been destroyed under his watch. He needed to go look for Kushina … To do what, he didn't know. Make sure she was safe, probably, to apologize, maybe. He wanted to look for Akane, Sanae, for Jiraiya and his team, make sure they were fine. Make sure … god, he hoped Sanae had not been among the troupes digging in Uzushiogakure for survivors. He knew she was a strong kunoichi, who already fought in war and had probably seen horrible things, but he did not want her to see that. He had to … He had to see his team again, make sure they were fine, make sure they knew it wasn't there fault what had happened. They'd done a good job, a great job. Had gone above and beyond expectations. He had to make sure they knew, they'd done good, none of this was their fault. He … wanted to make it up for the Uzumaki, surely the few that had survived, because they were out at the front and would now return to a destroyed home and dead families would want revenge, right? He'd gladly help, if they'd let him …

But despite all the things he wanted to do, needed to do, should do … he was just so goddamn tired. He had already slept too much, too long, too deep, he knew. There was a war going on, but he couldn't help it. So, he slept ... again.


	32. A New Uniform

**A New Uniform**

"Sensei!" Choza came rushing into his room in the hospital while he was doing push-ups. "Look, what we have for you!"

Sakumo had been in hospital for the better part of a week now and his team, he knew, was occupied with mundane D-Ranks and mostly bored with that. They visited him daily only to complain about the boring missions the Hokage put them through.

The Hatake stood up from the ground where he was exercising and watched as Inoichi and Shikaku trailed into the room much less excited.

"What is it?" Sakumo asked a bit impatiently after a moment of Choza just staring at him expectedly.

"Oh, right. Here!" Choza threw a small scroll at him.

Opening the scroll a bit overly cautious, Sakumo quickly realized there was a summoning seal scribbled inside. It wasn't a particularly complicated design, so he quickly realized it was just a storage seal. He soon dispelled the seal and looked down at a Standard Konoha Uniform the way it was issued to all Chunin and Jonin of the village. He wore one of those to pretty much all his missions. He was a bit confused as he stared at the neatly folded clothes. Only then did he realize that it wasn't so standard after all.

There were the standard dark blue sandals on top of the stack of clothes. The belt and the pouch as well as the standard black weapon's holster for around his thigh. There was a new Hitai-Ate.

"We couldn't retrieve your Hitai-Ate from the scene," said Inoichi quietly as if in apology. Sakumo hadn't even realized he had lost it at first. But he hadn't found it on his bedside table when he had first woken up, so he had already gathered that he might have lost it.

Sakumo nodded and took up the headband, staring at the symbol for a moment before putting it aside to marvel at the new sheath they had apparently ordered for his Tanto. At the moment the sword laid with naked, glistening blade in one of the drawers of the bedside table. The sheath came complete with a brown leather strap to string around his torso.

"Thanks guys," he said earnestly, looking for the Tanto in the drawer and putting it into the sheath. It fit perfectly. And it felt a lot safer to not leave the blade lying around deadly naked.

He still didn't completely understand, why they had bought an entire new uniform for him. Sure, the one he had worn in Uzushiogakure was ruined, but he had dozens of those. No need to buy him a new one. Especially considering he still earned twice what they all earned combined, even on their small missions.

There were the dark trousers, just the same as always. Then he froze suddenly. The shirt was new. The same colours, but there was the Uzumaki crest on one sleeve and on the other ...

"Is that what was left of it?" he mumbled to himself, touching the white, short sleeve sewn over the long sleeve of the shirt. It was unmistakably a torn peace from the robe the Uzushiokage had given him. He thought he had lost it, thought it had been burned and torn off his body.

"That was all we could salvage of it. Your clothes were pretty much blown to smithereens, but you still had some rags on you, including that." Shikaku pointed at it. "We wanted to throw all the tatters away when we arrived at Konoha, but the Hokage said to keep that." He shrugged somewhat helplessly. "Said it meant something."

"Hokage-sama said, it was a symbol of trust and friendship between our villages," Choza explained happily. "It was a great honour that they gave it to you." He saddened suddenly as Sakumo looked up to him. "After what happened … It means they trusted us, right?" He asked with almost pleading eyes.

Sakumo almost shrugged, because he didn't really know the meaning of the gesture either. But then he caught himself. "Yes, they did," he whispered quickly.

"Then … shouldn't we have done more?" Choza looked like he didn't know what to believe, then the Akimichi looked to his friends for support. "Everybody says we did a good job. Like our parents and the Hokage … and you, but …"

"But we didn't really do anything," finished Inoichi, as Choza's voice got quieter and quieter. Choza nodded weakly. "We were there, but we hardly even helped."

"There was nothing we could have done," stated Shikaku, almost pouting, defiant, but with a silent plea in his eyes. "Right, Sensei? They were just too strong, and we're just Genin."

"Right," Sakumo admitted. "You're just Genin. Nobody would have expected that you could even do as much as you did."

"Then why were we there at all?" Choza sounded angry, dissatisfied.

"Yes, we're not supposed to be this useless! We're shinobi," that was Inoichi again. "We're supposed to be stronger."

"You're already a lot stronger, than you were a few weeks ago," tried Sakumo, but he knew that wouldn't help.

"Still too weak, though. It's not enough." Inoichi glared at him.

"Aren't we supposed to join the war-effort in spring?" Shikaku frowned a bit. "We're never going to survive or help anybody like this."

Sakumo's breath whistled audibly. Right … the war. "Well, I guess, there's only one way, then. You have to get stronger."

Shikaku frowned even deeper at that, Inoichi nodded after a pause and Choza suddenly smiled though only barely. "So, you're going to train us again, Sensei?"

Sakumo shrugged, then nodded. "Sure. I am your sensei, after all." It had looked like he'd be holed up in hospital for a while and wouldn't be able to give them much actual training apart from advice. But he was healing faster than just about everybody had expected. "I just need to get myself released from hospital," he declared. As soon as he did that – and he didn't think the Doctors had much reason to keep him here much longer – he himself could even start training soon. Time he finally got back into shape.

"Great," muttered Inoichi and as so often Sakumo could never tell whether he was being sarcastic, but – the Hatake decided – the blond seemed genuine enough. "I almost feared we'd need a new Sensei now. After everything."

They left him shortly after that.

Sanae came to visit the next day.

"You know, Anija, I come back from the front after almost two months, and I find you exactly where I left you," she greeted as she burst into the room.

"I think this is a different room," Sakumo commented with a grin.

"Yeah, it's also a different floor." She slumped on the only chair in the room. "Anyway, how have you been?"

"Splendid," he lied. He had just woken up from a nightmare and his scars were aching. Could be worse, though. Much worse.

"I met your team. Very cute," she didn't even care for his reaction. "Heard you almost got yourself burned to a crisp in Uzushiogakure."

"So, you've heard."

She threw an empty water bottle at him, probably just to throw something. He was glad she didn't happen to have some kunai in her hand.

"I'm injured. Be more considerate," he reprimanded in mock hurt, rubbing his hip where the object had hit him.

"No …" Sanae mumbled. "You be fucking more considerate!" She suddenly jumped from her chair, pacing through the room. Okay … he had only himself to blame for this outbreak, he admitted quietly. "Every time, no matter how long I'm gone. I come back, and you are here again, after almost dying once again", she growled angrily. "Does your wife know how stupidly reckless you are?" She whirled around pacing back at him, staring him straight in the face. "Ever thought about what Akane and I would do, when they tell us, your sorry ass almost got itself killed again? You can't keep doing that, Anija."

"I don't do it on purpose," he defended himself.

"No, sure. But you always run head first into danger. Your little team told me how you were oh, so happy to sacrifice yourself for them."

"What?" Now, it was Sakumo's turn to growl at her. "Should I have just let them die, or what? Let the enemy take the Jinchuriki and murder our allies, while I do nothing?" He crossed his arms, his face twisting with the horrific memory of the massacre he'd been unable to stop. "You weren't there." Gods … "Thank the gods, you weren't there. But you wouldn't … It's not like I planned to die, or didn't fight with all I had, but I couldn't just do nothing … fail."

Sanae seemed to calm slowly. She pulled the chair closer to the bed and flopped down on it again. "I know … I was just worried, Anija. It's … gods, it's horrible." She looked around helplessly. "I heard about what happened. We come from the Iwa-front. The fighting has pretty much died down there. It started snowing in the north and … both armies have settled for now, I guess. When we heard what happened …"

She quieted suddenly. "Anyway, they tell me, you'll be released tomorrow. Gotta take it slow, but apparently everybody's surprised with how fast you heal."

"Don't change the topic, now," Sakumo muttered. "What happened?"

Sanae hesitated for a moment, then she shrugged helplessly. "I don't know. They must have somehow passed through our borders. Just … you know, when we heard what happened …, they tried to find the weak link, where they had gotten through, and apparently, it was our … I mean my troupe."

"It's not your fault," Sakumo said immediately, though he didn't know if he meant 'you' as in singular – not Sanae's fault – or if he was willing to acquit her entire side of the Konoha forces. After all, … it had to have been someone's fault.

"Tell that to the Uzumaki," Sanae mumbled.

"What, don't tell me, they are trying to blame you for this?"

"What? No … No, I mean … They think Konoha screwed up. They are probably right, of course. But they want distribution. Like revenge. But … you know there were also a lot of Uzumaki among my comrades, right? When they heard what happened, they just lost it. Thought it was our fault, their own fault … They just …" Sakumo didn't think he had ever seen his little sister so shaken. She was an adult now, but she seemed so young all of a sudden.

"They broke the line, attacked. Pretty much ran into their deaths, it was horrible. They didn't even take many of the Iwa-nin with them." She fiddled with her hands nervously.

So, that was what had happened. Upon hearing of their hometown's fate, some Uzumaki – especially those who blamed themselves, because they were among the Konoha troupes, who had let the enemy slip through – tried to get revenge in a mad attack against the Iwa frontlines. Sakumo suspected, that when their attempts were crushed against the Iwa forces they might have even welcomed death as the next best thing.

"They ordered you back because of that?" Sakumo asked understandingly.

"Hm," she hummed in acknowledgement. "My entire team is up for psyche evaluation. Then I guess they'll send me to a different side of the war. Maybe to the south."

"Kiri?"

"They are attacking some of our coastal fisher villages. Since the Battle of Uzushiogakure they have officially joined the war, but there's no attack against Konoha directly, yet. I don't think they are even ready for an actual war. But we need forces down there, to protect the civilians, and just in case they try another surprise attack like against Uzushio."

Sakumo nodded. Then he pointed to Sanae's uniform. Like his new uniform it had he Uzumaki-crests on its sleeves and the back of the flak jacket. He had seen that new design with many of the Chunin in the village. "Is that in memory of Uzushiogakure?" he asked and the words felt disgusting on his tongue.

Sanae nodded after a moment of confusion. "Oh, the Uzumaki-crests. Yes. New standard uniform. In honour and memory of the long friendship between the Uzumaki and Konoha." She looked down at the crest on her right arm. "With Uzushiogakure destroyed, it apparently seemed like the right thing to do. Not that it's enough. Everyone wants revenge." Sakumo nodded. "Maybe it's to make us angrier, or something. I got it as soon as I stepped back into Konoha."

"I already have one, too," Sakumo said after a moment of quiet. "The team had one issued for me."

Sakumo nodded to where the clothes were still neatly folded.

"Custom made," Sanae acknowledged with a sly smile. She pointed at the short white sleeve. "What? Is that the special design for the famous White Fang?"

Sakumo shrugged but didn't answer. After a moment, Sanae shrugged too.

"I made Jonin, by the way. Battlefield promotion. Saved Captain Koharu's ass." His sister smiled proudly.

"About time," Sakumo commented. But before her smile could fall from lack of praise he added: "Well, I guess there's something to celebrate. I'll be finally free from this bed tomorrow. I could invite you to dinner … Tough I might have to bring my team along," he added after a moment. He had promised them, he'd pay them a meal first chance he got … to show his gratitude for saving his life.

"Sure, sure." Sanae smiled mischievously. "You bring your team, I bring my team. As long as you pay."

Sakumo grunted in annoyance. Right. Feeding Choza alone was going to cost a fortune. He'd never make such stupid promises again.


	33. Out of the Hospital

This starts a new arc. There will be many new characters and though I tried to not introduce them all at once I couldn't really do it any better. You'll see in a few weeks, I guess, and I hope it's still not that bad. Too many characters at once is what I'm bad at normally ...

PS: I had formating problems again. Sorry. Now it should be better.

 **Out of the Hospital**

"Sakumo-senpai!"

As he turned around, he immediately recognized Izumi who ran towards him with a scowl on her face. They were at the training grounds and Sakumo had trained alone for a while after he had sent his team on a mission. He'd only been released from Hospital two days ago and he still felt stiff and out of shape.

"What is it?" he asked but he already knew it had to have something to do with the downfall of Uzushiogakure.

"It's a good thing I meet you here," she started at once. "I wanted to visit you at the hospital but couldn't find the time."

"What is it you wanted to talk about?" He glanced away from the training grounds, craving a shower but stayed where he was waiting for her answer.

"First and foremost, I wanted to thank you," she started which only made him frown, "for saving Kushina. She's not only my student, but family."

Sakumo nodded, but he didn't really feel like he deserved her gratitude. He had visited Kushina first thing after his discharge from hospital and she had raged against him. He couldn't blame her. As far as Sakumo knew, she had spent the last week with the Hokage, some of her friends from the Academy and several medic-nins trying to come to terms with the fact that she had not only been forced to sleep through the downfall of her hometown, but that she was also pretty much the only survivor. Her parents were dead, as were all her childhood friends. After Sakumo and his team had carried her out of Uzushiogakure she had truly woken up to a cruel, cruel world. She hadn't exactly said, that she blamed Sakumo, but the Hatake thought he deserved her scorn anyway.

It wouldn't last, the Hokage had said. Kushina was just angry and disappointed, more with herself than anybody else, the old man had told him, but Sakumo wasn't so sure. He did blame himself, and in the end, he thought it was better for the girl if she blamed him, too, rather than herself. After all, it was clearly not her fault.

"I wish I could have done more," answered Sakumo after a moment.

"We all do," Izumi replied darkly. "At least you were there. That's more than you can say about me."

"I'm sorry for your loss." He didn't know whether Izumi had lost any direct family. She had lived in Konoha and was a Konoha-Shinobi for as long as Sakumo knew her. She had even gone to Academy here, if his information was correct. He didn't really know though, if her family lived here with her or if they had died at Uzushiogakure.

She only nodded sadly. That was when Sakumo thought about what she had said again. Did she blame herself as well? Did everybody now blame themselves? "It wasn't your fault, that you weren't there."

"I should have been there." There was an angry frown on her face. Anger directed at herself. "Instead I was here, safe and sound, correcting papers." She balled her fist.

"You couldn't have known. Don't blame yourself." He also didn't think her presence would have made a difference. His hadn't made a difference, either. It should have … but it hadn't. It was a truth he had to live with now. He didn't want to tell her that, though, didn't want to tell her that her strength wouldn't have mattered. One, two people more wouldn't have made a difference, she would have just died along with her clan.

"What are you doing here?" He asked instead of trying to console her any more. Her presence here struck him as odd. It was still hardly noon. He had met with his team in the early morning and had then sent them to do a minor D-Rank mission while he trained alone. They were by now experienced enough that they could find stray cats and the like without him, and he did better, using his time to get back into shape. Just now, he had wanted to shower and then meet Sanae for lunch, when Izumi had appeared. It was the middle of the week … didn't she have classes to give?

"I wanted to train."

"I got that," he smiled. "I mean why aren't you at the Academy?"

"Oh, … I asked to be reassigned." Because of the Battle of Uzushiogakure, no doubt. Sanae had told him, that the remaining Uzumaki were on the move, trying to mount a counter attack. Did she want revenge now, too? It didn't seem to fit her character. She had always been the good-natured type. Then again, that was before her clan had been massacred with all the strong shinobi away from home. She certainly deserved her revenge.

"Are you out for revenge?" Sakumo asked straight away, no point talking around the subject.

"Of course," was her honest answer, "we all are. It's actually why I wanted to talk to you."

He raised a curious eyebrow.

"I need to know, you're with us," she pushed, "when we put our plan into motion, I hoped you'd be with us."

"I … I didn't think …" He didn't know how to answer. He hadn't really thought about it. Of course, he firmly believed the Hokage would plan some sort of retaliation, and he'd be there if needed, of course. But he hadn't planned to seek revenge himself. It wasn't like he had any right to it, it wasn't his clan or his friends they had massacred. "I'll do as the Hokage commands, of course." His answer didn't seem satisfactory to Izumi, if her deepening scowl was anything to go by. "I mean, I'm no Uzumaki, I don't see how I have any right to …"

"You're no Uzumaki," she cut in. "Of course, you're not. But you've been there." Her eyes flickered quickly to the white sleeve with the red markings that still remained from the robe the Uzushiokage had given him. "This proves you stood with our clan to the end. You've seen what they did to our children and the civilians." He nodded trying not to remember the destroyed city and the reeking stench of death too vividly. "Even if you're not one of us, we would want you at our side."

"I can't go against the Hokage's orders" he told her with a quick glance at her own Hitai-Ate. Neither could she, he thought, but he didn't remind her of it. "But if there is anything I can do, I am at your side. I don't think there's a single shinobi in Konoha who doesn't want retaliation."

"Good!" She nodded with firm determination. "Good." It was as if some pressure lifted off her shoulders because suddenly, she seemed more relaxed looking him up and down. "How are your injuries?"

"Better," answered Sakumo at once. He didn't even consider telling her about the dull ache in his healing limbs or the tickling pain flickering over his many scars from time to time. It was hardly worth mentioning. He still had all winter to heal properly. By spring, when the snow in the north would finally melt and the armies would move again, he'd be ready to head out too, he was sure.

"Maybe we could spar some time?" She seemed a bit uncertain. "I made Jonin only recently, but truth be told, I haven't really kept in shape for a while now. I have of course kept up with my training, but with most of my old friends out on the front I could really only train with my fellow teachers." She shrugged a bit dismissively. "They are not half bad, but most of them are still just Chunin."

Sakumo nodded in understanding. "I have promised my sister I'd meet her for lunch," he explained almost feeling bad that he didn't have time right now. "But we can meet tomorrow morning."

She nodded eagerly.

"I'll train my team from eight to ten, if you could join me after that. I need a sparring partner as well." With Akane, Jiraiya and his team and even Kenoah and Yashiro still on the front he was sorely lacking a good training partner. Izumi wouldn't be able to hold up to them, he was sure, especially if she was out of shape, then again, so was he.

At lunch, Sanae was oddly quiet and subdued talking about her psyche evaluation. She had passed with flying colours, but Sakumo looking at her wasn't so sure whether she should have passed. He was glad, the Hokage had decided against sending her team out again right away. She told him she would remain in Konoha until the end of the month, before they would send her to coast patrol in the south to fend off against the small Kiri-attacks against their coastal villages.

Right after lunch he was summoned to the Hokage Building. He clearly wasn't the only one. As he entered there was a surprising number of shinobi inside and he took a while before he realized some of his fellow Genin team Senseis.

"What's going on?" he asked the blinded Uchiha. By now he knew the man's name was Shinso. He had lost his eyes during the same conflict Kagami had died in. Sakumo had heard stories that the man had cut his own eyes out, when he couldn't avoid capture.

"Don't know," was the short answer. "I assume they are planning the next Chunin Exams."

Sakumo nodded, then he realized the men couldn't see it. "Okay," he felt a bit awkward and Shinso obviously realized it.

"Sakumo Hatake," muttered the Uchiha. "I've heard about you." Shinso was a few years older than him, in his late twenties. The man didn't even turn his head as he spoke to Sakumo. "Team 11, right?"

Sakumo nodded a second time, then remembered once again, that Shinso couldn't see him. "Yes. Your team was number two, correct?"

"So, you remember." There was a short pause, before Shinso finally turned his head just the tiniest bit in his direction. "You were in my cousin's Genin-team, if I remember correctly."

"Yashiro is your cousin?" It was only then, that he realized that it might not have been Yashiro. It could have been Kagami, too.

"No. Not that little shit." Sakumo frowned at how the other man spoke about his own fellow Uchiha, even if they apparently weren't closely related. "Kagami." Sakumo frowned. Of course, if it wasn't Yashiro it could have only been Kagami, but the age difference between them was quite big. Of course, it wasn't impossible for cousins to be that far apart, but he needed a moment to process it none the less.

"Sensei? I didn't know." Despite his surprise he felt excited to meet a relative of Kagami's. Of course, he knew Kagami's wife and son, but his wife wasn't a kunoichi and his son had been so young, when Kagami died, he knew his father even less than Sakumo had.

"He spoke about you," said Shinso. "Quite a lot." There was a hint of a smile on his lips. "Everybody always only wanted to know about little Yashiro, that arrogant little git. But he kept talking about you. Told me, you'd be stronger than me one day if I didn't train hard." There was a slight frown. "Back before he died, and I lost my Sharingan, that is."

Sakumo felt a sudden chill run down his spine. He heard some resentment in the man's voice, but he wasn't entirely sure if it was targeted at him. "I want a match," declared the Uchiha finally, startling Sakumo. A Match? Sakumo wasn't one to pity or underestimate the man for his blindness, still he couldn't help but wonder. He was an Uchiha, after all. It was many years ago that he had trained with Kagami and back then, Sakumo himself had been young and inexperienced. However, what experience he had since then, mostly with Yashiro but also with other Uchiha he had met, they relied heavily on their Sharingan. "Don't pity me!" the Uchiha suddenly hissed.

Sakumo sputtered with the shock of being caught. "I …" He wanted to deny it, but he felt the man would hear his lie. "Sorry."

"He died for you. I've heard the story. I just want to know whether you're worth it."

Sakumo stared at the other Jonin for a moment. "And you plan to do that by deducing my strength?" Had he been strong enough, Kagami-sensei wouldn't have had to die for him. Something felt off, he thought. Did Shinso think, that pure strength made him worthier of saving than anybody else? "Fine." Sakumo gave in after another moment. "When do you want to fight?"

"We'll see …" It was such a vague answer, Sakumo could just stare after the man as they were finally let into the Hokage's office.

"As some of you might have already guessed," started the Hokage, "we'll hold the Chunin Exams two weeks from now." It was common for the Chunin Exams to be held in spring or early summer. Sakumo assumed this time, the Hokage planned to hold the Exams in the midst of Winter to have a greater number of Chunin to draw from for the coming battles. It made sense, but it also irritated Sakumo, that again, young children would be forced into higher positions than they should be to fulfil the village's needs for the war. "Because of the current situation, the Exams will only be held between Konoha's own Genin – our allies in Yugakure will hold their own exams in time – they will also only consist of two parts. A written test and a team battle, where we will judge each participant individually. You have these two weeks to prepare your students and inform me, should your teams not be ready to participate, yet."

There was a silent pause. "You're dismissed." But when Sakumo was about to turn and leave, he heard the Hokage again. "Sakumo, could you stay for a moment?" He remained where he was.

When they were finally alone, just the Hokage, Sakumo and Shikaruma Nara standing to the side with a thoughtful expression on his face, Sakumo stepped forward into the middle of the room. "Hokage-sama?" he asked expectantly. "What can I …?"

He was however interrupted by the Hokage's quiet musings. "I wanted a proper chat with you ever since your return from Uzushiogakure. But I fear," he made a vague gesture towards his desk, "I had too much work to do to find the time. I've read your report about the … the incident. And I've talked to your team and Kushina. Did you know we sent all four of them to be evaluated and treated by our psychologists?" Sakumo nodded. He had heard. He didn't have a particularly high opinion about the psychologists of the village; especially during war times they seemed to clear their patients a bit too quickly for his liking. Both Sanae and Shikaku should have needed more counselling before getting their clearance and he was fairly sure, Choza and Inoichi weren't over the events yet either. At least Kushina seemed to get the proper attention, then again, she was not a Kunoichi, yet, thus there probably was no need to hurry her case along.

"I'd ask you to make an appointment as well," the Hokage went on.

"I'm fine," lied Sakumo, because however much he knew they probably all needed more psychological care than the village offered, and they should probably take what they could get … he just didn't want to speak about his experiences. And he'd spent too much time with healers recently already.

The Hokage didn't lament on the topic. "It's your choice. Unlike your team you are an adult and a Jonin and Team leader." He made it sound as if it should be Sakumo's job to realize he needed to talk to somebody and go there himself. He gritted his teeth in anger. Well … maybe he should make an appointment, just one though. No need to drag this out. He felt mostly alright, after all. And he doubted the lingering guilt would just wash away that easily, no matter whom he talked to.

"Is that all?"

"No." There was a thoughtful pause, in which Sakumo looked at both the Hokage and Shikaruma expectantly. "I've realized in recent weeks, that you inspire loyalty in others …" Sarutobi didn't seem sure whether he chose the right words. He frowned, but then he merely nodded to himself.

"Excuse me?" asked Sakumo not really understanding the statement. "Loyalty?"

"It seems that people trust you. Something about you."

"I fear, I don't understand." He had heard about people having this ability the Hokage talked about. He had heard the first Hokage had been like this, people immediately liked him. But Sakumo knew he was different. People didn't like him immediately. He was not that charismatic. Most of the time, he hardly even knew what to say or what to do, and even when they did trust him – which he knew happened sometimes – he failed them more often than not. He had failed Kazuki and Hige. He had failed those children in that village where he had gone to on his S-Rank infiltration mission. He had failed the Uzumaki.

"Me neither, to be honest. But my representatives in Yugakure told me your presence was essential to negotiating this Alliance."

"They were our allies before. We just renewed this friendship between our villages."

The Hokage smiled wistfully as if there was something Sakumo didn't know or hadn't understood yet. "There is no long-standing friendship between our villages," explained the Hokage to Sakumo's great surprise, "Konoha's only true ally has always only been Uzushiogakure." Sadness flashed over his eyes for a brief moment. "The alliance with Yugakure was only created after the last big conflict."

Sakumo nodded, remembering that well enough. "So, it still lasted for six years …" He quieted as the Hokage held up his hand.

"Back then, it was created to no small part thanks to a young Jonin of Konoha, sending an apology letter and a plea for help to the then Daimyo of Yu no Kuni, offering his own services as payment for their help and afterwards upholding this promise." The Hokage stared at Sakumo pensively and Sakumo understood, remembering the message he had sent to the Daimyo to get help for Megumi.

"I've only done, what was necessary to protect my teammates back then," he explained a bit embarrassed.

"Not only did you uphold your promise, protecting the Daimyo during his trip to Konoha, but you stood true to it throughout a crisis, demanding no further decompensation even when because of the sculp of the situation nobody would have held you to that promise anymore. You also managed to strike a friendship between yourself and the late Daimyo and his family and upheld this friendship until his death. It was this friendship that helped us secure our alliance with Yugakure in the first place. It was this same friendship that enabled us to renew this alliance even after the Daimyo's death."

Sakumo wanted to answer. Wanted to say, that it was also to a great degree thanks to Inoichi's and Inori's willingness to agree to a marriage deal and to the fact that Inoichi and Kimiko had found each other so quickly, that the alliance could be renewed, but it was obvious that the Hokage was not yet done talking.

"I thought for a long while now, that it was just mere luck, a lucky coincidence, that made one of my most notorious Shinobi a true friend to the Daimyo of Yu no Kuni giving Konoha this opportunity for a now six-year-old alliance. But then you're sent to Uzushiogakure and you come back," his eyes flickered to Sakumo's white sleeve – wearing a robe bestowed only to the Uzushiokage or a true friend of Uzushiogakure."

"The Lord Uzushiokage thought it necessary to grant my team and Kushina safe passage through Uzumaki Lands," explained Sakumo at once. He had cherished this cloak, still did, had seen it as a great honour … but he felt just about everybody blew this gesture out of proportions.

"Maybe, but it's passing odd, don't you think?" Hiruzen didn't give him time to answer. "Only a single team of Konoha makes it to Uzushiogakure in time to do anything about the battle. Yet, in truth, they only come to save a single girl, not the entire village. Kushina, since the Kyuubi was sealed within her, is regarded as a Konoha citizen. Did you know that?" He nodded, of course he knew. By now, he knew where this was going, and Sakumo didn't like it. "So, in fact, the only Konoha team making it to Uzushiogakure in time, is not even really there to help the village but just to save one single Konoha-girl who just happens to be there. And fittingly, while just about everybody else dies that day, all five citizens of Konoha present during the massacre, including three young Genin and an unconscious little girl, survive."

"I offered to help them," said Sakumo. He felt the need to explain himself. He had, after all, thought the same often enough. Of course, he would have done everything to ensure his teams survival, but he had wanted to do something for Uzushio, too. Instead, he had failed their allies and only really minded Konoha's business. "I had order to prioritize Kushina."

"I know," said the Hokage. "But did you realize that there is no resentment against you? Kushina might be the only Uzumaki who resents you even a little bit for leaving Uzushio to its destruction."

Sakumo frowned at that observation. He had realized that. He had actually waited for the resentment, for the blame and shame being put on his back. He had expected it from Izumi this morning, but there was nothing. Nobody, not a single Uzumaki seemed to only so much as look at him angrily.

"In fact, most surviving Uzumaki, despite not knowing the first thing about what happened, seem to agree that you must be a true friend of their clan." Sarutobi now pointed to Sakumo's sleeve. "It is thanks to this."

"I told you, why it was given to me."

"You did. But it doesn't really explain anything. Why would the Uzushiokage, faced with the imminent destruction of his own village, care about you and a few Konoha shinobi in the mix? He must have seen something in you, something that ensured him that you – despite only really fulfilling Konoha's orders, acting in Konoha's best interest – also had Uzushiogakure's best interest at heart."

Sakumo frowned. There was not much to say to that. He did after all know, that the cloak had meant something. It was why he cherished it so much. Maybe, the Hokage blew it out of proportions, maybe everybody did, it didn't change the fact that it meant … something. "I don't inspire loyalty," he went back to the Hokage's original statement. "Or friendship even. I have more enemies then friends."

It was true. He had bitter enemies in Suna and Kumogakure. And surely by now in Iwagakure as well.

"And yet, I've seen you bow to these same enemies, willing to put your pride behind the greater good." He meant the Raikage, obviously. The man had killed Kagami, and Sakumo had bowed before him.

Sakumo frowned only deeper. "What is this about?"

"I've merely realized some qualities about you, that I've been ignoring so far." The Hokage rubbed his chin. "Qualities well suited for a diplomat."

"I'm a shinobi," reminded Sakumo. During his trip to Yugakure he had realized how thoroughly out of his depth he felt with the diplomats talking over his head.

"And as such you are invaluable to our war effort."

There was a small pause, then suddenly the Hokage smiled, seemingly going through an entire personality shift. "How's training going?"


	34. A Final Test

**A Final Test**

"What was this about?" asked Sakumo as soon as he and Shikaruma left the office.

Shikaruma smiled quietly for a while, until Sakumo threw him an angry and impatient glare. "Huh?" he seemed thoroughly amused. "What, don't tell me you didn't realized? He's thinking about naming you the fourth Hokage."

Sakumo halted in his step from shock. "What?"

"You're a smart kid, Sakumo. But sometimes you can be horribly daft."

"I'm way too young to be Hokage," cried Sakumo a bit indignantly sputtering the first excuse why this couldn't possibly what the Hokage had wanted, that came to his mind.

"Sure, you are. He doesn't want to name you Hokage now, idiot." Shikaruma shoved his hands into his pockets. "Not now, but sometime after the war. But he's been in office for more than fifteen years now, it's only natural to look for a successor."

"I thought, Orochimaru was his first pick."

Shikaruma shrugged. "He is … was … But if I'm completely honest, Orochimaru himself and Hiruzen aside nobody really wants him as Hokage. He's strong enough, but he shows almost no political tact, and wouldn't inspire trust among our allies or even just between the clans. Then there's Jiraiya. He's not quite as strong as Orochimaru or you, but he's got the charisma … He's too carefree though, for now, and lacks the maturity. Tsunade is clearly not interested in the position, herself. Her boyfriend Dan is of course interested. I think most of the Hokage's Council right now prefer him. He has the will and the dedication for it, but while he is strong, he's nowhere near the strongest nor the smartest in your generation. This is a bit of a problem, as you can probably understand. There's always Danzo, I assume, but nobody really wants him as Hokage."

Sakumo was a bit surprised at getting such a quick rundown of all current Hokage candidates. He hadn't really expected it and was for once stunned into silence.

"That really only leaves you in my eyes. Not everybody agrees, but you're my first pick. You are of course less ambitious than Orochimaru, Dan, Danzo … or really half of our current Shinobi. You also seem to have some confidence issues, I wasn't entirely aware of until today," added Shikaruma after a moment. "But other than that … You're strong enough, you have the dedication and love for the village and its people, you have the strategic mind to lead our armies, and unlike just about everybody else you have some experience in the less exciting aspects of leading a village, like negotiating alliances." There was a sad expression on the Nara's face. "It's a shame. If it weren't for his blinding, I would also consider Shinso-san as a possible candidate."

"Uchiha Shinso?" asked Sakumo to make sure. He hardly knew anything about the man.

"I guess you must have met him today. He was quite the promising young Jonin, back before … well. No need to cry over spilled milk. It would have been good to have a first Uchiha Hokage."

Sakumo didn't know what to say to that. For all the Uchiha he knew, he really didn't know much about the clan. He was sure they were ambitious enough to just be waiting for an Uchiha Hokage, and he assumed it made sense – they had been one of the founding clans. But he didn't know Shinso had actually been a potential candidate before his injury, nor did he know that according to Shikaruma it was apparently due time they had a Uchiha Hokage.

He found himself back at the training grounds an hour later, going through several of his easier exercises. His right arm was still giving him some trouble and he felt a bit short-winded and unsteady. As it got late, he stopped and watched some of the teams practicing. Several of the Senseis had brought their Genin teams to train and to tell them about the on-coming Chunin Exams. There was quite the ruckus on the fields until long past sundown. Most of the Instructors seemed tense to Sakumo with premonitions of war heavy on their minds, but the young Genin didn't seem to realize. Some, mostly older Genin who probably tried to make the exams before, looked a bit uncomfortable, tense or nervously determined, but the younger ones of his own team's year were excited and a bit too chatty for a harsh training session.

He saw Shinso Uchiha and his team there and watched them for a moment, remembering what Shikaruma had said about the Uchiha. Shinso didn't seem to pay much attention to his underlings, but Sakumo knew this impression was likely misleading. Even when Shinso slowly made his way to Sakumo, the Hatake was certain he never missed a single step his genin did. How he did that, what senses he used, Sakumo could only guess, though.

"We meet again, and you didn't bring your team," Shinso stated matter-of-factly.

Sakumo nodded and this time didn't bother to answer out loud. He was sure Shinso could somhow detect his movement.

"Training on your own, or is there a reason you didn't immediately call them here to give them the news?"

Sakumo frowned, sure that Shinso wanted to insinuate something, though he wasn't sure yet, whether Shinso thought he doubted his team's ability, or if it was something else.

"Don't tell me you're afraid, they won't be good enough." Shinso chuckled quietly. "Sure, they are young, but I've heard they've seen some action."

Of course, he had heard about it. "My team is fine," Sakumo couldn't help but bite back, "I'd bet they'll beat your team easily." Something about this Uchiha made Sakumo want to challenge him. It was infuriating. He normally didn't care for these things, even less so would he push his teams into a rivalry of his own.

"Oh?" Shinso lifted a scared eyebrow by just a fraction. "Well we will see during the exams, who's team can make it further." Sakumo didn't answer for a moment. The exams … yeah. When he didn't say anything, Shinso started again. "So, it's not doubts in their abilities, that stopped you from telling them right away." He smiled a bit while Sakumo's frown only deepened. "Is it maybe, that you don't want them to make Chunin quite yet. They are so young. And in March they'll be sent to war. It will be even more dangerous if they are Chunin." Sakumo glared at him gritting his teeth. Maybe the Uchiha was right, at least to a degree. But … "Oh, I can sympathise. My team I just as young as yours after all. They were annoying at first, but you know, they grown an you." Sakumo felt as if Shinso scrutinized him judgementally. Could you feel watched by a blind man, he wondered? "But you know, as their Sensei and as a Konoha shinobi …"

"I know my duty," Sakumo cut in, glaring at Shinso angrily. "I've been training alone, to get myself up to speed again. Whether or not my team is up to the challenge is something I will have to assess myself." He inhaled deeply. "You are of course right. I don't particularly want them to make Chunin, yet. As Chunin, they'll be sent on their own missions, likely without me their to protect them, likely leading their own team into difficult missions. Clearly, it is something, I'd rather avoid. But rest assured, that I know my duty as a shinobi of Konoha. If they are indeed ready to take the exams, my personal feelings will not make me deny them their chance to participate." He stared at Shinso determinedly and a bit angry, that Shinso would even insinuate something like that. He also realized, he suddenly felt a bit younger again. Shinso made him feel like a bumbling fool of a teenager. As if he had to proof himself to the older shinobi. It was so infuriating.

The Uchiha smiled a bit, as if Sakumo had said exactly what he wanted to hear. "Good. Good, I just wanted to make sure." He turned to leave, but before he left, he stopped again. "And I look forward to our teams clashing during the exams."

"I need a favour," started Sakumo the moment he entered the house, even before he saw his sister. "From you and your team, if you can spare a minute tomorrow."

"Sure," came the lazy answer from the living room, where she didn't even look up from her novel as he entered the room. "As long as it's not helping you find one of your fat cats," she joked. "You know Saburo has an allergy."

"I didn't know," he answered, wondering how annoying it would be for a young genin to have an allergy against cats. Half their D-Rank Missions seemed to consist of finding cats. "But know, that's not it. I need you to give my team a good scare."

"Oh," she looked up in surprise, then she smiled mischievously. "Yeah, I think I could do that." She looked so nefarious that for a moment he regretted even asking. "What's this about?" Only for a moment though; he had a plan.

"The Chunin Exams will be held soon."

"Oh?" She raised a questioning eyebrow. "A final test if they are ready or what? Do you doubt them?"

"Not really. Just need to make sure. The first time, they met an enemy they completely froze, and I had to safe them. I want to see how they'll do now, if I can't jump in to save them."

"So, what? You want us to seemingly knock you out, and then attack them?" She thought it through for a moment. "Sounds fun, but you don't think they'll have a chance against us, do you?" She put a finger between the pages of her book and closed it to look at him. "They won't stand a chance."

"You'd be surprised," he challenged. "But no, I just want to see how they react. And I'd be grateful if you don't overdo it."

"Fine," she smiled. "I'll tell my boys to be careful. We don't want to make your babies cry now, do we?"

He scowled a bit, but then only nodded and left to the kitchen. To get something for dinner.

The next morning he woke up early and hurried to the Hokage's office to ask for an easy D-Rank mission that would lead them outside of the village for a few hours. In the end, one of the Chunins responsible for distributing Missions found them an easy mission just half an hour outside of the city borders, where a local farming community had troubles with a few wild boars. He informed his sister, then he went to get his team out of their beds early.

"We have a mission," he stated with crossed arms, scowling at the fact that Shikaku was basically still half asleep and Choza was tiredly rubbing his still swollen eyes. "And wake up, boys, you're shinobi. You should be ready at all time."

"But Sensei …," whined Choza. "You said, we'd only meet at eight for training. I stayed up late."

"Your fault," reprimanded Sakumo, "now … stop rubbing your eyes!" He snapped as Choza wouldn't stop even when his eyes were even more puffy and red.

"Sorry," he mumbled apologetically.

"Missions don't wait for when you're ready. You have to take them as they come."

Inoichi scowled at that, glancing over the mission scroll Sakumo had handed him earlier. "Chasing off wild boar?" asked the Yamanaka doubtfully. "And why exactly couldn't we do that after sunrise.

"Because I say so," answered Sakumo not missing a beat. "Take it as another lesson, if you like. You'll have to get used to working at uncomfortable times."

Inoichi didn't seem to disagree and Choza nodded tiredly. Shikaku hardly even reacted. The kid looked as if he was sleep-walking. How he didn't fall over but actually managed to keep up with them – although he was lagging a bit behind – when they left Konoha was a miracle to the Hatake.

The solved the mission with little problem. Choza woke finally up and got back into shape with sunrise at the latest and even Shikaku woke up when a boar suddenly charged him and he had to save himself with a dive jump into a muddy, ice cold water hole. He was grumpy for the rest of the mission, but at least he was awake.

On their way back, Sakumo ran a bit behind his team without seeming too suspicious. Inoichi was joking about Shikaku's muddy looks and Choza was laughing with them while munching on a few snacks he had brought for the mission. It was about nine in the morning and Sakumo remembered his date with Izumi in a few hours, when he was finally able to make out the scents of Sanae's team. He didn't immediately recognize them. Obviously, they had taken measures to hide their identities, and Sanae had given them a few hints on how to supress their body odour too, but he'd recognize his sisters scent anywhere.

He didn't warn his team about the oncoming attack, and they didn't seem to realize it by themselves either, as they were chatting away in front of him. He wasn't immediately disappointed in their lack of attention. Likely they relied on him to warn them of any danger, as he would normally do. And Sanae's team had done a good job in obscuring their advance. Even for a more experienced team it wouldn't be that easy to see them. He had of course hoped, they'd sense the oncoming danger and they definitely had to address that oversight on their part later on. For now though, he couldn't be too disappointed.

He braced himself for an attack. If they wanted to make I look, as if he were defeated and knocked out, they'd have to hit him hard, he knew. He had talked about it with Sanae and they had decided not to use a cheap trick, with a double or substitution jutsu, as by now, his team was probably experienced enough to fall for it. And if they realized that all this was just a test, it would negate the purpose of this exercise even if they still had to fight by themselves. So, he braced himself for an attack strong enough to kill an unsuspecting victim.

"Sensei!" He heard Inoichi scream. Apparently, the boy sensed the danger, just a second before it hit him. Sakumo was at least thankful for that much, but he couldn't of course react to the warning, as in that moment Saburo's foot basically crushed his ribcage. He gritted his teeth, as he blocked most of the force with a lightning shield, but he'd still get a bruise from this. Damn it, the boy had gotten strong. The force of the impact propelled him several yards across the forest where he smacked hard against a trunk.

This was a stupid idea, he thought, as he found himself safely on the forest ground out of sight from his team, catching his breath. Then he supressed his chakra signature until it was all but extinguished, to the point where Inoichi definitely couldn't sense him anymore.

He quietly sneaked closer to his team again, where he could hear fearful and confused shouting from his team.

"What are you doing here?" This was Inoichi, trying for calm and collected, but he sounded too nervous to make anybody believe his charade. "This is Konoha territory."

"They don't wear headbands," mumbled Shikaku quietly, but fully alert despite his tired and grumpy day.

"I can see that."

"What do we do?" Choza was searching the woods with his eyes, obviously hoping for Sakumo to came back and save the day. He looked afraid and worried. "Is Sensei alright?"

"Shh," hissed Inoichi, "he'll be fine. Probably just fell unconscious, the useless idiot." There was a worried frown on his face and Sakumo was sure, the Yamanaka had felt it the moment Sakumo's chakra signature had virtually dropped to nothing. But he didn't tell Choza and Shikaku. Probably a wise decision.

It was obviously Inoichi who had taken command the moment Sakumo had been taken out of the fight. That was pretty much expected. Inoichi was the most level-headed and mature in his team.

They hadn't moved much since Sakumo had lost sight of them, but he realized with satisfaction that they hadn't frozen either. Instead it seemed like Choza had somehow fended off the first attack by Sanae. Her other teammate, a black-haired boy named Kota who specialized in quick sneak attacks, hadn't made an appearance yet. He likely waited for his opportunity to strike. Sanae's team overall specialized in speed and mostly melee combat, although Sanae had trained her ranged technique a lot since her own Chunin Exams. They mostly capitalized on a quick surprise attack, starting into a battle strong. Since Saburo, the strongest taijutsu user in their team, had used his initial attack to get rid of Sakumo and Sanae had already entered the fight in a much-subdued way, to not immediately take out Choza, the greatest threat now was the still hidden Kota. Inoichi and the other two of course didn't know that.

The three Genin instead of freezing up or separating to take their opponents individually had drawn together protecting each other's backs. Like that, despite clearly being inferior to their opponents in single combat they didn't leave a glaring weak spot for Sanae's team to attack. So instead, the two teams eyed each other, Sakumo's team tense and worried and just a bit too afraid to look intimidating, Sanae and Saburo – faces hidden behind dark cloth masks – in silent scrutiny, waiting for a single moment of weakness from the young genins. It was a tense moment of silence, broken suddenly by Saburo as he testily put his food on the ground sighing.

"Damn, the guy's got hard ribs. I might have broken my ankle there."

Choza's eyes zeroed in on Saburo until Sakumo could see the slightest shake of his head by Inoichi. They were silently communicating he realized with unbridled pride. Inoichi's clan techniques enabled them to talk to each other without the enemy realizing despite the fact that they didn't know a secret code for communication yet. Likely, Sakumo guessed, Choza had asked if he could take the apparently injured opponent by himself, while Inoichi had advised against splitting up their current formation.

Shikaku's eyes quickly flickered from one opponent to the other, clearly thinking about a plan of attack. That was when Saburo made a quick hand sign towards Sanae, silently communicating to her. They walked in opposite directions, silently stalking around the genin until they had them surrounded.

"Come on, Shika, give me something," heard Sakumo Inoichi grumble. The Yamanaka had gritted his teeth clearly worried with the enemies now waiting positioned on both sides of them.

Then, everything went very quickly. Sanae and Saburo attacked simultaneously and too fast for the young Genin to evade. They both attacked using taijutsu, while Sanae apparently tried not to use her Raiton too much to hide her identity. They would obviously realize, when somebody with a similar fighting style then their sensei suddenly stood before them. Choza had just enough time to increase the size of his hand and block Saburo's hit. Among the team Choza's skill-set was best suited to tank just about any attack that would knock out the other too immediately. After they had seen how hard Saburo can hit against Sakumo, it was a wise choice to place Choza against him. The Akimichi gritted his teeth in sudden pain from the impact and he wasn't fast enough to catch Saburo as he evaded backwards but at least this danger was thwarted. Simultaneously, on the other side Inoichi jumped in front of Shikaku forming a quick hand-sign.

They were clearly placing all their hopes on Shikaku coming up with a plan soon, so Inoichi chose to protect Shikaku with his body. He grunted in pain, as Sanae hit him hard though not deadly in the stomach. A thin sliver of blood trailed down his libs, but then he managed to finish his hand sign.

"Shintenshin no Jutsu," he mumbled weakly. Sakumo had never seen him use his clan jutsu at point blank range before. Inoichi normally shied away from close combat. And wisely so. While he wasn't weak, it just wasn't his strong point either. He of course knew basic taijutsu, and Sakumo had tried his best to train him even more but compared to most other Genin he lacked physical strength and speed. He was smart, though. Maybe not quite the genius Shikaku was, but he could think on his feet and adept to situations faster than even the Nara could. A point blank Shintenshin no Jutsu was something even a Jonin with good speed couldn't just evade easily. Even less so, when they didn't expect it. Instantly Inoichi's body slumped where Shikaku caught it, and Sanae's body went lax. She was a Jonin with much better chakra control than Inoichi and would easily be able to fend him off, but for now, she was caught in his jutsu.

"Shikaku!" Inoichi hissed through Sanae's teeth, already sweating from the effort to keep her controlled.

Shikaku grabbed Inoichi's body and jumped away from Sanae. As soon as he landed, he extended his shadow to catch Sanae in it.

"No, you …!" Saburo rushed to help his teammate but immediately stopped when he saw that she'd been caught in Shikaku's shadows. Now, he wouldn't be able to touch her without risking to be caught in the Nara-technique as well. He swirled around and went after Shikaku and Inoichi's slumped body.

"Choza!" Shikaku screamed, drawing a Kunai to brace for an attack he couldn't possibly block. He knew Saburo was to powerful. But they had one and only one chance to take out at least one of the opponents and that was all they had to focus on now.

Sakumo was actually proud, as he watched his team seamlessly work together. From the moment he had taken over this team, their teamwork had always been their strong point. By themselves and on their own they had unique skillsets that were difficult to implement successfully in battle. By themselves they would have trouble dealing with just about any physically strong or fast opponent. But together …

After Inoichi had caught Sanae, Shikaku had immediately brought his body to safety and caught her in his own jutsu, as well. That was when Inoichi released his hold on her, slowly getting back to his own body, that already moved again, though a bit sluggishly. Sanae, who by herself would have no trouble to escape both Inoichi's control and Shikaku's binding didn't get the time to free herself, though, before she suddenly saw herself face to fist with a Choza's giant fists. For a moment, even Sakumo thought, that was it, and they would take out Sanae like this, but then he remembered the third opponent just a split second before Kota appeared. The black haired Chunin had obviously waited for a better opportunity, but now he had no other choice than to act as he flashed behind Choza and smashed his elbow in his side, that Choza, not unlike Sakumo a bit earlier, flew across the battlefield into the bushes. He still grazed Sanae with his fist, but he didn't do more damage than maybe displacing her shoulder and pushing her a step back.

That moment, Saburo also hit Shikaku. He was fast enough to just evade Shikaku's kunai that he held in front of his body for defence and punched him straight in the gut, that Shikaku sputtered and even split some blood making Sakumo flinch in sympathy. Saburo hadn't hit quite as hard as he had against Sakumo, but apparently he feared he had overdone it, for just a moment, giving Inoichi, who was finally back in the game, the chance to grab Shikaku and flee in the direction Choza had flown off to.

It was a wise choice, since Choza was the only one with the physical strength to block or tank physical attacks of the calibre Saburo and Kota were dishing out.

"You can't run!" Sanae screamed after them obviously a bit angry that it had been her who had been caught in their jutsu and needed saving. She angrily sent a lightning dragon after them.

This went to far, Sakumo thought, ready to jump in to end this fight. But then he suddenly stopped as he saw Shikaku, who must have been half unconscious from the attack he had taken earlier and who was still carried by Inoichi who tried desperately to do the impossible and outrun a lightning dragon, draw a scroll and release the seal against Inoichi's back. Then instead of throwing the giant Shuriken he had summoned, he rammed it into the ground in front of him and Sakumo watched in stunned admiration as the weapon function as some sort of lightning rod, diverting the direction of Sanae's jutsu. Even Sanae seemed stunned by that.

"Not bad," she mumbled.

"Let's go after them," suggested Saburo, but he seemed a bit unsure of himself.

"No, I think it's enough." Sanae turned in Sakumo's direction. "Don't you think, Anija. That Yamanaka brat must have figured out who we are by now anyway. He was in my head after all."

Sakumo who had already halfway jumped out of the bushes to stop the lightning dragon, stepped out of his hide-out completely now. "Yes, it's enough. Thanks." He glanced at Saburo. "And that's a strong left food you have there."

Saburo chuckled. The he withdrew his mask and the other two did the same. "Feared I might have hurt you there. What is it you did to protect yourself. Felt like I hit against stone."

"Later," Sakumo answered, turning to where his team made their way out of the forest sweating, bruised and still looking a bit worse for wear but also a bit angry. "For now, I think, I've got some explaining to do." He smiled a it lopsided, because he really didn't look forward to explaining why he had let his sister beat his team to a bloody pulp.

Choza looked a bit confused. "What's he meaning of this, Sensei?" He looked somewhat relieved to see that Sakumo was indeed fine, but mostly he looked baffled.

Shikaku was quiet, flopping on the ground and looking as if he was about to pass out. Inoichi had his arms folded and scowled at him disapprovingly. He didn't look to surprised, so maybe he had indeed figured out Sanae's identity when he took over her body. "Yeah, Sensei," he repeated scathingly, "what is the meaning of this?"

Sakumo sighed. "First, are you alright Shikaku? You took quite a bad hit."

The Nara breathed heavily but nodded.

"Good. We're close enough to Konoha. I want you checked by a Medic as soon as possible." He looked over to the other two. "You too. Then I'll explain everything."

An hour later they were in the hospital beside Shikaku's sick bed. The boy had broken a rib and taken a bad hit to the stomach. He felt a bit nauseous, so the medics wanted to keep him for the rest of the day. The others had gotten away with a few bruises. Sakumo too had quite a beautiful bruise forming and Saburo's ankle was indeed splintered.

"All right," Sakumo started when they were all taken care of. "About the reason for this little test …" He sighed. "I haven't told you yet, but the date for the next Chunin Exams has been decided. Normally they are planned in Spring or Summer, but due to our current situation, this year they will be held prematurely. More precisely the Exams will be two weeks from now. You have only just made Genin four months ago, so it is maybe a bit early for you to take the exams. However, it is not my responsibility to judge whether or not you're ready for this step. Konoha needs strong shinobi for the next year, especially with the war-effort starting again in March. As Chunin, you would be sent out on more difficult missions, burdened with higher responsibility. You would also, of course face stronger opponents. As Chunin, unlike now, I cannot be there to save you from harm, should you meet an opponent stronger than you." His team was now all ears. Choza seemed excited, Inoichi was still scowling, Shikaku seemed almost annoyed at the prospect of oncoming Chunin Exams. "Maybe, part of me feared, that should you participate in the exams they'll let you pass, whether you're actually up for the challenge or not. The village needs Chunin, after all. So, I asked my sister and her team to help me assess myself, if you're up for it."

"And?" Inoichi asked with a scowl. Choza was almost bouncing with excitement.

"And … well … Do you remember the first time, you met an opponent trying to kill you? You completely froze. This time, the opponent was much stronger than back then. And you didn't freeze or panic. Instead, I think even they are a bit impressed. Don't get me wrong, though," he added quickly, as Choza was about to cheer to their joined success, "you still would have lost, had I let the battle go on. Badly. So, we still have to do a lot those next two weeks before the exams. However, a few days ago, you told me you wanted to get stronger. Well, making chunin would be a good step forward." He procured three exam registration forms. However, while I think, you're up for the challenge, it's ultimately your decision to make. The Chunin Exams are a dangerous event, that can lead to injury or worse. After the exams, should you pass, you'll be asked to burden more responsibility, lead your own teams and make your own decisions. I want you to think about it, and decide for yourselves, whether you want to go through with it. I'm sure, if you're unsure, your parents would be willing to give you some advice, too."

He handed the forms over to the three kids. Inoichi stared at it with firm determination. Choza looked happy and excited, though Sakumo suspected it had been his words rather than the actual exam never mind the piece of paper that made him so happy. He'd always been susceptible to high praise. Shikaku still looked annoyed as he read through the application form before putting it on his bed-side table. "How troublesome," he muttered.

 **Ah the kid's are growing up so fast :D Poor Sakumo can't even keep up. I really enjoyed writing these current chapters. I don't even know why.**


	35. A Couple United

Hello,

before going into the Chunin Exams I wanted to explain a few things, regarding the timeline. I'll probably mention that again when we get to that point, but ... pretty much since the beginning of this story, I tried putting this all into the canon that we know as good as possible. That's especially in regards to the timeline. However, I found I had some trouble with the different events of the second Shinobi World War. Namely: The fashbacks and information we get on Jiraiya don't really make sense to me in Canon. It's portrayed as if Nagato, Yahiko and Konan were trained BEFORE Jiraiya trained Minato. However, as far as I know, they are 3 or 4 years younger than Minato, and Minato himself was quite young when he made Genin. So that doesn't make sense. So, I'll bring this up at a later stage, when we actually get to that part, but I just wanted to inform you already. The whole part with how, when and where Jiraiya met with the Ame-Orphans is a bit different here. While in Canon, he meets them right after the Sannin fought Hanzo, here I'll seperate those two events. The battle between Hanzo and the Sannin will happen ... sometime soon during this war, I guess, while Jiraiya will meet the Orphans some time later, after he trained Minato and after/at the end of the war. That also in my eyes makes it more believable that Jiraiya can just up and vanish for three years to train orphans. I always wondered how that didn't have repercussions, that he essentially left his village in the middle of a big war. Not only that it didn't have repercussions, but during the entire course of the Manga many considered him the best Hokage candidate ... which just seems off if he had just abandoned the village in its greatest moment of need :o

So yeah, I wanted to get this out of the way already. It's not going to be relevant any time too soon, just if some of you started wondering, when Jiraiya's going to leave the village for the Ame-orphans, it's not going to happen anytime soon.

On a different note: Thanks so much for 100 Reviews! This means so much to me!

And I hope you enjoy the next chapter!

Ceies

~/~

 **A Couple United**

"Damn it, your fast." Izumi breathed heavily, hands on her knees that were trembling from exhaustion. "And I'm out of shape."

"Don't worry. You'll get back on track soon. Your instincts are still as good as ever." He threw her a water bottle that she caught somewhat clumsily. "Wanna go another round?"

She glared at him as if he were teasing her, but he looked completely serious. "Yeah …, thanks, Senpai. But I think I'm done for today." She looked somewhat embarrassed at the admittance. "I guess, your constitution is better than mine. Not that it's a big surprise."

He shrugged half-heartedly. He had hardly even started sweating. "I had a lazy morning. You've been training for hours."

She frowned at him. "Really? I head your teams been admitted to the hospital. There was a fight?"

"A training fight," he informed her, "I let them do all the work." He grimaced a bit remembering the still forming dark bruise from Saburo's kick. It was healing naturally despite the medic-nin offering their help. Inoichi had muttered he deserved that much at least for the scare he'd given them. He guessed he somewhat deserved it and had taken the punishment with little whining. "Don't worry," he added at her concerned face, "they are fine."

"For the Chunin Exams, I assume," said Izumi. "You think they are ready?"

"Who's ever ready?" It was a rhetoric question of course. "But yes, they are ready to take the Exams." He shrugged. "Doesn't mean they are ready for an actual all-out war."

Izumi looked thoughtfully for a while. "I guess, after everything they must have seen in Uzushio they were probably closer to an actual battle-field than I've ever been. Can't even imagine how horrible it must have been for the kids. Kushina is utterly traumatized and the boys are hardly older than her." There was a self-loathing scowl on her face, the same self-loathing she'd shown the day before. The guilt, that the kids were there to help her Clan, while she hadn't been. "You know I taught them? Not long … but enough that I care about them."

Of course, Sakumo knew. Izumi had joined the Academy during Team 11's last year there. He didn't know how well they knew each other though. Since she taught advanced sealing, he assumed at least Shikaku and Inoichi had some classes under her tutelage. Choza hadn't taken that subject. By that time, he'd already concentrated most of his advanced subjects on Taijutsu, as far as Sakumo knew.

He assumed, once his team made Chunin he'd feel similarly protective about them. They wouldn't be his students anymore but full-fletched Shinobi ready to take on their own teams or join different teams wherever they'd be needed. He still somewhat hoped they could stay at least close to him even if they passed the exams. While they had the necessary skills acquired to make Chunin, as far as he was concerned, he wasn't exactly ready to let them go, yet. The sentiment made him feel older than his 23 years.

Izumi went to ask the Hokage for a quick mission, then, while Sakumo took a late and lonely lunch. It was late in the afternoon, when he met with his team in the hospital, where Shikaku would be released soon. Next to the three boys there were also Shikaku's parents visiting. Ms. Nara had a disapproving frown when he came back into the room. Sakumo only ducked his head and didn't say anything to her after a quick greeting. He hardly knew the woman but if what he knew was correct, she had a temper to rival Tsunade's. He didn't really fancy explaining to her why her son was in hospital for just a training exercise. She didn't ask him either, he realized with surprise. He'd steeled himself for a scolding when he'd first seen her. Then again, she was a shinobi, too. Maybe she just understood the severity of the situation and the danger of letting her son take the exams unprepared.

All three of his students handed in their registration forms then and there.

"When can we start training for the exams?" asked Choza excitedly. Inoichi looked attentive, too.

"We start tomorrow. You know there will be a two-part-exam, already?" He looked from one to the other and was mildly irritated that Shikaku still looked as if he really couldn't be bothered with the exams at all and only joined to do his friends a favour. All three shook their heads. "Well, I'm only authorised to tell you that much: The first part will be a written exam and the second a team exercise or battle of some kind. Those who make it through the first part will be evaluated by a set of judges based on their individual performance during the second part."

Choza seemed a bit put off by the idea of a written exam. All three didn't look too surprised though. They had probably heard of prior exams, maybe of their parents' exams. These particular exams were a bit shortened, consisted of only two parts instead of three, but they still worked similarly.

"What should we learn for the written exam? Any subject matter we should focus on?" asked Inoichi casually. Sakumo looked at him annoyedly. It was only when Shikaruma Nara stifled a laughter that Sakumo realized Inoichi was actually completely aware that Sakumo was not allowed to give out this information, but he tried regardless to maybe tickle some information out of him anyway.

"I don't know. You'd do good to learn whatever you've learned in the Academy and during our missions together." Practical knowledge they'd learned through experience rather than textbooks could be very useful for those written tests as well, he remembered from his own exams. He smiled at Inoichi who looked a bit disappointed by how little information he got out of his question. "If you have any more questions, I bet your father and Shikaruma here know a lot more about the exams." Shikaruma looked as if Sakumo had dowsed him in cold water. He glared at the Hatake with as much anger as he could muster in his perpetually lazy state. "Till then, meet up tomorrow at 7. Training Ground 3." With that he hurried to leave the hospital room before Shikaruma could decide his transgression just now was big enough to warrant the Nara getting his ass up and actually seek some form of revenge.

He went straight to the Academy to hand in the registration forms. He didn't even bother to go all the way to the Hokage's office but simply handed the forms at the reception. It was here that he met Shinso Uchiha again.

"So," drawled the Uchiha as he came up behind Sakumo. "I assume that means your team was judged ready for the exams?"

"I might get paranoid," answered Sakumo. "Are you following me around?"

The Uchiha smiled momentarily. Then he got serious again. "It does seem like it, doesn't it? But I assure you, it's just coincidence. Or situational … whatever you prefer."

Sakumo grunted in amusement. "Really … I hardly even knew you existed until yesterday. And now I don't seem to be able to rid myself of you."

"You wound me," Shinso jested.

"So, is this about your challenge yesterday?" Shinso seemed to muse quietly, so Sakumo just went on. "If you want a match, I'd be free for now."

"Ah, no. I don't think it's time, yet. I've heard you were bruised in training." Sakumo scowled somewhat indignantly as there was a sudden twinge in his bruise almost on command. "No, about the other challenge. Making sure, you know to train your team properly. My team likes a challenge."

Sakumo scowled even deeper then. "You sure are confident."

Shinso just shrugged, though. "It doesn't really matter, how they do. But I think it's good for them to have a rival. Someone who challenges them and makes them thrive for some greater destiny."

The thought wasn't that bad, Sakumo assumed. His team was a bit too complacent. Their teamwork was great as was their team chemistry and so far, that had helped them get a lot stronger. But Shikaku didn't really care if any of his teammates were better than him. Choza was to cheerful, agreeable and nice to challenge his teammates, even though he was trying hard not to fall behind. That left Inoichi as the only one in the team who was at all competitive with nobody to really actively compete with. It would do them good to have a team to compare themselves too.

Sakumo tried to remember the Genin Shinso trained. Aburame Shibi he had heard was the best graduate in his year. He was the heir to the Aburame Clan and said to be a genius. Then there was Uchiha Mikoto, a high-ranking member of the Uchiha family. He didn't really know much about her, though. He only knew of Aburame's grades because he happened to be top of the class. Lastly there was, as was common the worst graduate of the year in the same team as the best. Aoyama Shota. He didn't know much about him, but the name suggested that he came of a civilian family.

"Who knows," challenged Sakumo, "I haven't really evaluated the other teams. Maybe we'll find a better team."

Shinso smiled sourly. "I hope your team can take a beating."

Sakumo just smiled faintly. He wasn't all that competitive himself. In that aspect he was very much like his little students. That didn't mean he couldn't appreciate a healthy rivalry. "Let's see." He shrugged. "Not like I can actually force a rivalry on my team. And I doubt they'll be looking for one, either."

"Oh, don't worry about that."

Sakumo didn't know if he should feel scared for his little Genin. Should he warn them, that another team was likely coming for them during the exams? Or should he let them run in blindly. Both clearly had their pros and cons. In the end he decided, not to tell them, if only for his own amusement. That aside, he firmly believed it was better to let such relations evolve naturally. If the Uchiha's team had some sort of beef with his team, let them come.

He was alone that night. Sanae was out late with her team. He slept fitfully throughout the evening. Despite practice and a mission and running around between training grounds, hospital and academy he didn't really feel tired. Instead, his mind was wandering off. In not quite two weeks the exams would start. And then it was only another two months to the start of march for him to get sent back to the front. And that was if everything went according to plan and none of their enemies decided to cross their plans with another surprise attack or something like that to force Konoha to move out earlier. The outcome of the exams would decide what role his team would play during the war. He found himself genuinely worried. Damn it … he was a Konoha Jonin. He was not supposed to lose himself in sentimental emotions or worries. They were his team and he had judged them capable … So, he should stick to it and not worry his head needlessly when he couldn't change anything about it anyway. Not anymore. The moment he had handed in the registration forms he had given the decision about their fates out of his hand.

He turned around the Futon and closed his eyes when he suddenly heard a noise. He was on full alert immediately. For a moment he thought it might be Sanae, but Sanae wasn't that stealthy. At least she didn't move this stealthily around the house.

He stared into the darkness of the room, waiting, listening and sniffing the air quietly. Yes, somebody was out on the front lawn. He breathed a bit easier as he realized they weren't moving all that stealthily after all. Sure, they had a much softer step than Sanae who could be a bit of a klutz when she wasn't actively trying to stay quiet, but they weren't actually sneaking up on him. The wards didn't go off, he realized. Then he caught the scent through the half-open window. He was relieved immediately. Akane.

He was almost embarrassed, that he only recognized her this late. His window went out to the backyard and depending on the wind, he reasoned, it could certainly happen that he missed even his most beloved scents.

"It's me," Akane said when she opened the front door. He heard her take off her shoes and go through the corridor to their shared room. "Sakumo?" As she slid the door open, he could see her silhouette. It was dark enough, that he couldn't make out her features, but he didn't need to see her to be sure it was her. She sighed as she made out his shape on the Futon.

"I'm awake," informed Sakumo and turned towards her. "You're back earlier," he stated matter-of-factly. It wasn't that he wasn't glad to see her, but he hadn't expected to see her anytime soon. Since the war had started, she'd spent far more time outside the village than inside. It had of course always been like that, but now he hardly even got to see her anymore.

"I heard what happened," said Akane not directly answering his question. "Are you alright? From what I was told it sounded as if you were on death's door."

Sakumo smiled into the darkness. "Oh, I bet when you heard I was hurt you abandoned your mission and came rushing to my side. How sweet." He laughed happily and he knew she was scowling at him in a mixture of annoyance and exasperation without even being able to see much of her. "Know, I would do no less, love."

"I hope not," she rejected in a tight voice that made Sakumo laugh lightly. "But yes, I was worried about you. My self-sacrificing oaf of a husband."

He pouted a bit. "I love you despite the insulting, dear."

He heard her huff a silent laughter as she moved around the room. From the sounds he guessed she took off her uniform.

"There are new standard uniforms." The thought just crossed his mind.

"I've seen. I didn't get mine, yet, though. I'll get it tomorrow."

He didn't really care about the topic that much, although it had been him bringing it up. And he was quickly distracted from the topic, when she laid down next to him. He moved his foot to her side under her covers. "Your feet are cold," he commented, but it wasn't a big surprise. Her feet were always called. He loved it, because his were always so warm it was almost uncomfortable. She turned toward him and smiled and now she was close enough that he could make out her features enough to read her expression. Her feet were ticklish, so he purposefully moved his foot in a way to tickle her a bit.

"Yours are just so hot, it's unbearable."

"You love it," he stated confidently. She chuckled. "So, why are you back so early?"

She suddenly stopped chuckling and looked at him disapprovingly, then she turned away. "You know I can't tell. It's classified."

Of course, he knew. "Classified …" he repeated. If there was ever a word, he slowly started to hate.

"Huh?" She apparently wondered at his thoughtful voice. "What are you thinking?" But he was already so deep in contemplation that he hardly registered and didn't answer immediately what went through his mind.

He was a Jonin, a Jonin-instructor and still a member of Strategic Command even if he'd been somewhat-off duty in that aspect for the last weeks. His clearance was already very high. In fact, he was almost sure that there were hardly a dozen people with a higher clearance. The Hokage, of course, as well as the Daimyo, Danzo, the head of police Ikkaku Uchiha, Inori Yamanaka as head of the Intelligence Division, Shikaruma Nara as head of Strategic Command, the Hokage's councillors Homura and Koharu, some other people with high positions such as the Jonin Commander or the head of ANBU … There weren't many altogether – though it was a bit of a worrying thought still, that two of them where the fathers of his students. Even the ANBU didn't have higher clearance. Sure, they got secret missions of the highest confidentiality, but it wasn't like they had clearance on anything other than the missions they themselves were taking on. Sometimes not even really for those, as far as he knew.

"What Security Clearance would I need to finally be able to have an open conversation with my wife about work related matters?" He asked it somewhat ironically, but it really made him think. He wanted to know more about what she was doing than what she could tell him. Of course, he knew not to probe, but if he could get the clearance …

"About all my work?" She asked back. She sounded amused, as if she didn't take him completely seriously but was humouring him regardless. "The highest level."

"So, maybe I should set out to become Hokage?" It was a passing thought really. More of a joke than anything else, but then he remembered his conversation with the Hokage and Shikaruma.

Akane next to him suddenly sat up. "Where does this come from?" She asked.

"Somebody recently told me, I might have some qualities needed for the job." He sighed tiredly. He wasn't really out for the position, but if it put an end to the secrets between them ...

"Who, Jiraiya?" She laughed. "You know if he said that, he only doesn't want Orochimaru to get the job. He'd never live it down if his rival got the highest position in the village."

Sakumo laughed with her. She was right. Of course, Jiraiya wasn't the kind to envy Orochimaru his Hokage title. He'd surely be the first to congratulate his teammate. But he did joke about it sometimes. As if he feared Orochimaru becoming Hokage would make Jiraiya ultimately lose whatever competition there was between the two.

After a moment of mirth though, Sakumo sobered up again. "What? You think, I don't have it in me? I didn't think it was that absurd."

Akane got serious immediately. She stared at him. "No, I absolutely think, you have it in you. It's not absurd. If that's what you want, go for it, you have my full support, I just didn't think that was ever what you wanted." She laid back down again. "And I don't think 'So we don't have secrets anymore', is really the best reason to vie for the job." She chuckled shortly. "Even less so, since I doubt, you'll have much time for your wife with that job."

"I wouldn't worry too much," Sakumo answered with a grin. "Hiruzen just got his third child. His third child already. Proves he must spend some time with her." Young Asuma had been born just about two months ago.

Akane hit him in the chest playfully. "Yeah, but he hardly raised the two he has so far himself." She sighed. "He basically lives in that office."

As their conversation quieted again, she cuddled closer to him.

"Can you at least tell me, how long you'll be staying?" He asked after a moment.

"A week, maybe. Maybe longer. I don't really know."

"And you're alright?"

There was a silent pause as his hand sneaked around her waist. She wiggled a bit in his embrace until her head laid on his other arm. But she hadn't answered, yet.

"I'm not asking for details of your mission. But if something happened to you, or if something is wrong … I want you to tell me, if you're not alright."

"I am," she answered after a moment. "I am alright. Unhurt. Just a bit tired. The last weeks were stressful. And I might have nightmares."

It was enough to know that she had seen traumatic things during those last weeks. He could relate. They were shinobi. They both – whether they were ANBU or not – basically made a living off of traumatic events. After years, he guessed they were both hardened to them, or maybe numbed. But the especially bad ones would still get to them.

"Me too," he said. "And be careful about my left side, when you move," he added to lighten the mood again. Before she could worry, though, he added: "Saburo has a really mean kick."

She had to contemplate that, then she chuckled. "We should teach him a lesson tomorrow."

"I'd rather not. I kind of asked him to."

"I married an idiot. You deserve that bruise and if I wiggle around and hit you in my sleep, be sure it wasn't by accident."


	36. Running Circles

**Hey there,**

 **Just wanted to quickly inform you, that I have found a Beta-Reader who has already set to work on the first chapters. I hope this works.**

 **Hope you enjoy the new Chapter,**

 **Ceies**

 ****~/~****

 **Running Circle**

When he left the Hatake Estate Akane was still sleeping. She must have been really tired, so he let her sleep in. Sanae had been in the kitchen looking hungover and miserable. He'd joked a bit with her … to her annoyance more like. She had been summoned for a mission and was altogether disagreeable. Seeing his little sister so miserable in the early morning was admittedly a little rewarding. He didn't mock her too much though, else she'd get a need for revenge and he wouldn't be able to relax in his own house for the next few months.

"You here for dinner tonight?" she asked after him in a hoarse voice. He only waved in acknowledgment.

His team was already waiting on the training ground. Well, Shikaku had fallen asleep on a tree. Sakumo scowled up at him for a moment, until he ran out of patience for the boy to wake up by himself. Really the kid had no shinobi sense. Any shinobi, even tiny little Genin should have realized that they were watched now. So, instead of waiting any longer, Sakumo shunshined onto the same thick branch Shikaku was sprawled over. The wood, no matter how sturdy it looked cracked and wavered with the sudden weight. Shikaku woke up immediately but not fast enough to catch himself before the fall. Half impressed Sakumo thought for a moment the kid had already righted himself mid-air and would deftly land on his feet. Instead, the Nara landed sidelong in the mud, so that Choza laughed loudly and Inoichi crossed his arms disapprovingly.

"Alright," started Sakumo clapping enthusiastically while Shikaku muttered and cursed in the mud. "I we have hardly even two weeks to prepare you for the exams. You keep up with the theoretical knowledge yourself. If you have questions, you can of course ask, but we will focus on your other skills." He clapped again. Heaving Akane back made him cheerier than he usually was, and his students obviously noticed. At last Inoichi looked almost distrustful. "I need you to run a few rounds around the training ground."

The instruction seemed surprising to the children, but they followed it regardless, albeit Shikaku with a bit of a sour face.

"How long do we need to run?" Choza wheezed after about an hour. Shikaku seemed even more exhausted. Inoichi was the only one who kept running quietly.

Sakumo shrugged. He hadn't run with them but trained a few Kata's to get himself back into shape.

"I thought, maybe all day," said Sakumo with a broad smile as Choza stared with wide eyes and Shikaku almost dropped to the ground from shock. "Our last encounters with enemies have shown me one thing. You all have to little stamina." He shrugged. "Choza has the most chakra out of you three, but even his aren't all that big. Inoichi has the best physical stamina, but again, it's not all that special. Inoichi and Shikaku, you two rely too much on your Ninjutsu. But your Ninjutsu needs a lot of chakra, so you constantly run out of it, and then you're completely useless to the rest of the team. Choza you rely heavily on physical strength. That needs a lot of stamina to uphold, which means, while you don't drop from chakra exhaustion most of the time, you keep getting slower and weaker with attack. We can't have that. In short, I'll have you run circles, until your body can't take it anymore. Then I'll have you run even more, so you're forced to use your chakra to propel yourself even further forward." He shrugged with a devious smile. "Maybe if I get too bored, I'll let you make some Jutsu instead to deplete your chakra."

Shikaku seemed horrified. Inoichi too, Sakumo thought, though it was hard to tell, as he stoically kept running his circles. He had already overtaken the other two once. Choza however looked oddly excited. "So, we'll have greater Stamina and Chakra for the Exams. Yeah, that would help!" He grabbed Shikaku's wrist and basically dragged him along.

Sakumo grinned happily. Oh, Choza was so useful to have. Other than Inoichi, who never really complained, but was also never really happy or excited about anything, or than Shikaku, who was rather unwilling when it came to exercise, Choza might sometimes need an explanation why something was done, but then he was all in and determined to do the best he could.

Sakumo hoped the strategy would have the wished effect. It was rather easy to work up physical stamina. Or … well, easy … It was physically demanding and took time, but the body would change and grow with its needs. If you only trained hard enough, you'd ultimately become stronger, faster or in this case get more stamina. With Chakra it wasn't quite that easy. Sure, just like an other body function it would increase and get better the more it was used, but at the end of the day, genetics decided how much chakra you had, and while you might be able to make a difference with exercise, Sakumo feared Choza would be disappointed with his Chakra increase at the end of this training. It was still important, though. At the moment they all needed physical stamina more than chakra enhancement. This was something often forgotten in basic shinobi training. Even at the academy. Often, when shinobi tried to get stronger, their way to achieve that was by learning a completely new and more powerful Jutsu. Such a strategy was maybe viable if one had chakra to spare, but for most shinobi – and that included Sakumo – a giant Jutsu only served to immediately zap them of all their chakra with just one or two attacks. Sakumo's rule of thumb was, that if a shinobi couldn't use a Jutsu at least three times in a single battle, and still be able to hold their own in Taijutsu or at least have the stamina to run away, it wasn't suitable for battle at all. No, for most people the best way to get stronger was to work on the basics: Strength, speed, stamina, chakra control, strategy, instinct, perception, technique and elemental control, if necessary.

Jiraiya would sometimes frown at the training he did. When Jiraiya came back from training, he always had another flashy Jutsu. Sakumo often enough didn't come out of training with a new Jutsu at all. Still, in most situations Sakumo was sure he could take Jiraiya one on one. Well, maybe not in a straight slugging match in a small and restricted arena-like area, where he had nowhere to hide. Jiraiya had once asked him about it: Why he wouldn't just learn a really awesome fancy lightning Jutsu, because he'd definitely have the talent for it. The answer was simple, really. Whatever Jiraiya … or really many of his friends, who all had copious amounts of chakra, thought, he did in fact not have the talent for a giant fancy lightning Jutsu, or any giant and fancy Jutsu, really. Just summoning Jiraiya's toad, he was pretty sure, would send him straight to the hospital from chakra exhaustion. The problem of the little people, something that chakra-beasts like Jiraiya would never understand.

His team was like him in that regard. They had even less chakra than him. Maybe an adult Choza would reach or even surpass Sakumo's own Chakra reserves. Inoichi had decent enough chakra. In the end, shinobi from clan families almost always had more natural chakra than civilian shinobi. But considering the fact that most shinobi, at least most Jonin still came from the old Clans, his chakra was just about average. Shikaku however … Maybe it ran in the Nara family but even in Shikaruma Sakumo hardly sensed more chakra than in a civilian. To be able to keep up not only with their peers but with their enemies in the war, they needed to be in top physical shape.

He in the end decided to have them use some Jutsu to get rid of their chakra a bit faster. It wasn't really what he had wanted, thinking it would be better to deplete their chakra as slow as possible, but they were shinobi after all and maybe he had forgotten that part. They were able to run until long after noon before they even had to properly tap into their chakra amounts. Choza was the first who ran out of physical stamina, but he'd also be the one who'd be able to sustain himself on chakra alone longest. Inoichi was able to run almost two hours longer than the other two before Inoichi could sense his chakra depleting more rapidly. After that though, it went rapidly downhill with the Yamanaka and especially with Shikaku. However, it was winter, so nightfall came predictably early and he still planned to catch dinner with Sanae. The main reason he stopped them, though, was that they still needed proper meals and sleep to regenerate.

Well, by the time he told them to stop, Shikaku was pretty much already done. He told the other two to run over water, which would require them to use a bit more chakra than just running on solid ground would. It didn't take long for Inoichi to slip up and crash into the cold water. He was sour and bad-tempered when he came up again, to keep running, and he was relieved when Sakumo called to him to stop and come over and rest like Shikaku. Choza was done only shortly after Inoichi.

"Well," Sakumo waited for the Akimichi to drag himself back to shore. Both he and Inoichi where cold, trying and failing to keep themselves warm despite their wet clothes. "I don't want you to catch a cold, so get inside and get warm before you get sick." He pointed at a public bath close by.

His three charges looked like the walking dead, as they dragged their way to the bath and into the changing room. Sakumo talked to his team again before they jumped into the hot water.

"The way your body feels now, I want you to remember this feeling. I made you stop at the first moment, your chakra completely gave out on you. This is the point, where you can't fight anymore. It's your limit. Now, don't get me wrong. If you push it, if you're desperate, especially if there's danger and you're on adrenaline you'll be able to push past that limit and fight a bit longer still, maybe even win a fight. But don't get fooled, especially not buy your adrenaline or despair. At this point your body is still able to function, your chakra will be able to support you. But what you cannot do at this point, is fight. Because after this point, every other Jutsu, ever other move could make you collapse from exhaustion." It looked like Shikaku was the only one who really understood. "So what do you do, when you are in a fight and you arrive at that point?"

There was a stubborn look on Choza's face as if he wholeheartedly believed he should fight on anyway, even though he knew that this was the wrong answer. It was the reason he didn't answer.

"Give up," said Shikaku with a shrug.

Inoichi glared at him. "What you want to get captured?" Shikaku shrugged half-heartedly. He was obviously not thinking about a battle situation but about the chunin exams, where torture and death would probably not await them should they surrender. "We run," declared Inoichi self-confidently.

Choza stuck his tongue out in disapproval, but he didn't say anything against it.

"Correct," said Sakumo.

"But shouldn't we at least try to win? What if it's necessary for the mission, or to protect somebody? I don't want to run from a fight. I want to be able to win." He glowered untypically dark, maybe remembering how they had run from the enemy in Uzushiogakure.

Sakumo shook his head. "At this point your chances of success drop to almost zero. There are, of course some situation where it's still worth a try. If you have a viable strategy, or if your opponents are beyond their limit as well, or if the only way to achieve your subjective is by fighting, no matter whether you win or lose. For example, when you don't need to win, but you need to by time. Objectively assessing the situation you might decide, that staying and fighting is still preferable. But in most cases, it is not."

"But I can't just drop everything and run," cried Choza in frustration. "What about the mission or my team?"

"What about your team?" This was Inoichi cutting in. "If you drop from Chakra exhaustion, one of us has to drag you along. That would limit our chances of success massively. If you died, we'd be one man down so the chances to succeed on our mission would be the same as if you had fled. That is, if we're not distracted or traumatized from seeing our comrade die in front of us. And on top of that Konoha would have lost a shinobi. It's a lose-lose-situation."

Choza stared at Inoichi. Sakumo saw that his stubbornness was still waring with his logical understanding. Sakumo of course had expected that. He was even somewhat surprised that Inoichi so easily understood and accepted that lesson. Of course, he was smart enough to, but of the three he was the most dedicated to the shinobi rules. And all Genin learned early in the academy that they were only tools for their mission, that their mission was the most important, that their lives and feelings did not matter. An altogether horrible lesson to give to a bunch of children with the sole purpose of raising emotional child soldiers who would not blink at the idea of a suicide mission or attack. Sakumo saw that clearly, when it were these three children following the lessons, but it didn't change the fact that he himself also followed the same teachings. He might put his comrades before the mission, of course, but his own life was still worth preciously little to him. Even the reason he prioritizes flight over death wasn't to save his own life, but because of the objective advantage to his village if the shinobi was still alive even if the mission was lost either way.

"I know it goes against your instincts and teachings to run from an opponent. But the only reason you feel like you still have to fight is pride. Every shinobi feels that way. But for you to lose your life or the village to lose a shinobi out of pride is not worth it. Even more so if you should get captured and tortured. Even more so, considering the fact that most missions don't necessarily require you to win any battles. They can often still be fulfilled after you relinquish victory. You lose the battle, but you win the war."

As Choza slowly seemed to accept that, he glanced to the other two. "Knowing and recognizing your limits is the most important ability for any shinobi. Right after knowing and recognizing the limits of your teammates, and opponents. How fast are they? How strong? How long can they attack, before they need to catch their breath? So memorize the way you feel now."

"Yosh!" cried Choza suddenly happy again. Maybe the fact hat Sakumo had called this their most important skill was what had hyped him up again. He was always excited when he felt he had learned something new and important.

"Now, get clean," Sakumo smiled glancing at Shikaku's arms where the mud from this morning had long dried, then mixed with the sweat and then dried again.

After another hour or so, they left the public bath and Sakumo told his team to eat well, sleep, have a good early breakfast, that would give them the strength for the next day and meet back up at 7 am tomorrow.

He arrived a bit late for dinner and joined Sanae and Akane already sitting at the table.

"How are the little shits?" asked Sanae.

"Tired, I reckon."

"Poor bastards," Sanae smiled a bit flippantly. "I'm really glad you're not my Sensei."

He had trained Sanae a bit before she became a Genin, but that was it. So he wondered, how she knew anything about his methods.

"What did you make them do?" asked Akane.

"Stamina."

"So, what? You had them run circles for hours, didn't you?" She laughed. He shrugged in acknowledgement. "Your training methods where always somewhat uninspired."

They kissed as he sat down to eat with them.

"But you're good with them," she smiled at him. "And you like it. I can see it in your face, that you like them."

"Sure," he answered as he shovelled rice in his mouth.

"I wonder …" Her thoughtful tones made him look up.

"What?"

"Do you want to have children?"

He stared at her, then he dropped his bowl and chopsticks. "Children?" It wasn't like they had ever decided not to have them. After their marriage they had even actively tried to get pregnant. Only for a few months though. It hadn't worked at first, then work and life and missions had happened, then the war.

"You want to try again?" He asked after a moment.

"I don't … Yes, but I'm not sure, if it's the right time." She shrugged. "I just thought you really like children."

"I don't like children," he answered immediately but then he smiled relenting as both Sanae and Akane raised an eye-brow at him. Well, okay, maybe he liked children a bit more than he had a few months ago. It wasn't like he ever actually despised kids, he had just never really cared for them. He did however grow to like his team very much.

"We could wait until the war …," she didn't even finish the sentence. They were young, sure, they had years, still. But it didn't look like this war would end any time soon.

"It's not ideal," he relented. "But if you want children, and I want children …" He shrugged. "We're shinobi. It's not like we'll ever live a save life. If it's this war or the next …" It was a sad reality, but theirs nonetheless.

Akane nodded. "Then let's try again."

As he nodded, he could see his sister blush a bit and quietly – almost shyly eat the last bit of her rice.


	37. The Written Exams

Let the Chunin Exams begin.

As mentioned before starting whit this chapter, I'll introduce a whole bunch of new characters to give our kiddies some competition during the exams. Sakumo will also take a bit of a back-seat, while Ino, Shika and Cho show what they've learned. This Chunin Arc is getting a bit longer than I first planned it. Please tell me when you get tired of it, then I may decide to cut it a bit shorter.

Greetings,

Ceies

* * *

 **The Written Exam**

The next morning his team was still tired, moving sluggishly and slow. He didn't give them any slack, though. For the next few days to the exams he had them work their asses off. Sometimes he made them spar to the point where they almost dropped, often he just let them run and every two days or so the Hokage would have a small mission for them to mix things up.

It didn't take long before he saw some improvement, though he didn't think they even realized that they kept holding out longer and longer after a few days. In the end, however, two weeks were hardly enough to drastically improve, but he did feel confident that they had gotten stronger without even them realizing how much. Maybe they wouldn't ever realize it, he guessed, but now he was sure they could take on opponents they previously wouldn't have stood a chance against. If it was enough to make Chunin, he wasn't sure. They were still young, had only made Genin a few months ago. Most Genin did not pass their very first chunin exams.

At the day of the exams he left his students at the Academy. As they took their places in the classroom for the written test, he moved to the Jonin Standby Station to wait.

"Sakumo?" He heard somebody ask as he entered. "I didn't expect you here. Wasn't your team still very young."

Sakumo walked over to the man with blueish white hair, smiling broadly at him as he sat comfortably on a wooden bench with empty scrolls spread on a table in front of him. Dan Kato was Tsunade's new fiancé. He had just celebrated his 25th birthday a few weeks ago, just before the Battle of Uzushiogakure. Jiraiya had cried big fat crocodile tears as Tsunade had made the relationship official last year. Sakumo couldn't really hate Dan for breaking his best friend's heart, though. Neither could Jiraiya for that matter. Dan was just too likable. He was quiet, maybe even a bit shy but always willing to help those around him. Sakumo had hardly known him, before he had somehow weaselled his way through Tsunade's obsession for Orochimaru into her heart.

"Dan? What are …? Oh, I forgot, you took a team last year."

"Yeah. Before the war broke out." Of course. Dan was strong. With the war the Hokage would not have made one of his more capable Jonin an instructor for Genin, just like he only made Sakumo a Sensei because Sakumo had been injured at the time. "You have the next generation of Ino-Shika-Cho, right? Tsunade told me."

Sakumo nodded. At that moment the door burst open again. "Speaking of which," he mumbled as he recognized Cho Akimichi standing in the door searching the assembled Jonin instructors. Finally, her gaze settled onto him.

"Sakumo," she bellowed and waved before marching toward him. "I have something for you." She looked a bit annoyed as she searched in her weapons pouch for something. "That idiot Shika completely forgot to give this to you! You really can't rely on him at all. The man will be the death of me!" She muttered until she finally found what she was looking for. Then she held a small wooden casket up to him.

Sakumo stared at her in confusion. He didn't take it until she basically pressed it into his chest "Here, take this!"

"Wha…" he took the box because he really had no other choice. "What is this?" It looked like she was giving him some jewellery. Old jewellery if the age of the casket was any indicator.

As he opened it there indeed was jewellery inside. Three silver knob earrings blinked in dark velvet. "Thanks, but what …?" He was really confused.

"Did that old man not tell you anything?" Cho seemed legitimately angry now, as she rubbed her neck in frustration. "I told Inori, that lazy idiot can't be trusted to do anything you ask him to." Then she shrugged. "Well ..." She pointed to the earrings. "These are family heirlooms to be given to your students. You know that it is a tradition for the Nara, Akimichi and Yamanaka to work together? We did this already long before the foundation of our village. Since then, we normally ask a high ranking Sarutobi to fulfil the role of Sensei and Instructor to our young, but as there was no Sarutobi available this year, Shikaruma was very happy to suggest, you take the position." Sakumo already somewhat knew this much. He hadn't known that normally a Sarutobi would have his position, but he did know that there was great tradition between these clans. "But of course, you would not know any of our traditions the way a Sarutobi would. Shika should have informed you, but, well, I guess it's my job now. The moment they all three make Chunin we ask you to give these to our children." She pointed at her own ear where she was wearing a similar earring.

Sakumo felt a bit flattered by the suggestion he take part in this tradition. He also felt out of his depth. "Is there anything I'd have to say to them?"

Cho looked at him quizzically. "It's not a complicated ritual, boy," she laughed. "Just give it to them and tell them whatever you'd tell them as their teacher. But only once they all made Chunin."

Sakumo nodded relieved that there was not much else to this. "Fine. Thanks." He didn't really know why he was thanking her and maybe she didn't either, but he did feel oddly flattered at being included in an old family tradition. Maybe she appreciated his appreciation, because she smiled after a moment and for a second Sakumo felt as if she wanted to ruffle his hair like a young child, before she briskly turned around and left.

"Quite the boisterous woman," laughed Dan behind Sakumo when Cho was gone.

Sakumo chuckled at that. "Well, she's not worse than Tsunade."

The other Jonin flushed a bit. "Huh? Yeah … So, do you think your team will make it?" Maybe he wanted to forcefully change the topic and Sakumo let him. No need to embarrass the man.

"I wouldn't have registered them, if I didn't," he declared self-confidently. It would get difficult, of course, but he did believe in them.

"Oho?" Dan smiled. "Well, then I guess I'll have to keep an eye on them should they even make it to the second part."

That was of course also a possibility, Sakumo had to concede. He really didn't fear that they lacked any theoretical knowledge. Inoichi was good in that aspect and Shikaku had the logical mind to be able to answer most questions even if he had to guess. Choza might have some trouble, but he had learned more than anybody for this. Still, answering the questions was not the most difficult part of the written exam.

"Who's the instructor?" he asked.

"You haven't heard, yet? Thought you might be the first to … ah, maybe they purposefully left you out. Strategic Command."

Sakumo groaned. "Shikaruma?"

"Nah, of course not. You know how he is. I bet he used his son's participation as an excuse to step down. Your friend Takeru Hyuuga."

Takeru? The Hyuuga was a Jonin a bit older than him. Sakumo and he had started working for Strategic Command together. For a few minutes Sakumo thought about what kind of trick Takeru would pull. He couldn't come up with anything. Like him Takeru still did a bit of everything in the department not specializing in anything yet. However…

He remembered that Takeru had a special interest in encoded battlefield communication. So, maybe he'd do something with that. He couldn't be sure though. The only thing he knew, was that this would acquire his students to think. Jutsu prowess or even teamwork would not be as important as just plain thinking of a strategy. He worried a bit about Choza; not so much about Inoichi or Shikaku. They'd find a way. He just hoped they'd also find a way to communicate that to Choza.

It took two hours until there was finally some movement. Then the Jonin could see that several young shinobi flooded out of the Academy to assemble in the courtyard. Dan stood up peering down through the window.

"It's over," he informed the other Jonin in the room. Then there was a collective nod and while some of the instructors hardly even moved from their seats most of them stood up to walk down to their charges. Sakumo could see Shinso Uchiha stroll down the stairs lazily.

Sakumo followed the other Jonin down to the courtyard where he scared Choza half to death as he shunshined behind his three students.

"So, how did it go?"

Choza almost cried as he saw him. "Horrible! The questions were so difficult. I don't think I made it." He seemed about to jump Sakumo to hug him and cry his eyes out while simultaneously avoiding eye contact with his two friends. "I'm so sorry, guys. If we didn't make it, it's all my fault."

Sakumo raised a questioning eyebrow at the other two, because Choza didn't seem coherent enough to be able to explain anything in a way that Sakumo would understand it. "Was it that hard?"

Inoichi shrugged, but it was Shikaku who answered. "The questions were tough, but we told you, Choza. Don't worry. I bet we made it."

"How can you be so sure?" cried Choza. He wasn't quite tearing up yet, but there wasn't much missing. "They said if one in the team didn't make at least fifty points, the whole team would be screwed. I'm lucky if I made twenty points." He looked altogether miserable. "I knew the written test would be hard for me, but … I learned so much and now … I bet you'd have easily made it without me."

"Don't worry, Cho." Inoichi said self-assuredly. "I bet we made it, trust me. Shika and I …"

"But I'm sure I didn't make enough points!" Choza cut in.

"Choza," said Sakumo putting his hand on the boy's shaggy hair to calm him down. "Listen to what they want to tell you." It seemed like Inoichi and Shikaku had wanted to explain something to the Akimichi who was too lost in his self-pity to even realize that. Sakumo himself didn't know yet, what plan they had come up with, but they both seemed very sure of themselves.

So far, all he had understood, was that this year as it was most of the time not the individual points decided whether one had passed, but the total points of a team. There apparently was a threshold, though, that prevented any team from passing where the individual members could not achieve more than fifty points.

"See," Inoichi started, and with a glance at Sakumo he sighed and explained it to both of them, so Sakumo too would understand. "There were so many questions that they didn't fit on one test sheet, but two, front and back. You could achieve a maximal 200 points per person and a total of 600 points per team. 150 points were needed for the entire team to pass but should one member make less than fifty points the whole team would fail."

He paused, mostly to make sure that Sakumo had followed the rules. Of course, he had, they were very simple. There was one oddity, though. If every member had to make 50 points at least and 150 points were everything that was needed to pass as a team, why sum up the team's points at all? This system seemed to suggest that as a team you could help out the weaker partners, make up missing points of one teammate through the other members. But if fifty points were needed individually and only 150 for the entire team that wasn't the case. Unless of course, there was a way to cheat, a way that you could make the examiner pass a team even if somebody did not in fact achieve the fifty points.

"At first I thought we could cheat and somehow give Choza the answers but that was really almost impossible."

Shikaku nodded with an annoyed frown. "Yeah, they arranged the room and seats in a way we could hardly see each other."

"So, what did you do?" asked Sakumo though he already had an idea.

"Shikaku and I wrote Choza's name on the sheet," he explained almost a bit proudly. Shikaku seemed bored as if that had been the only natural conclusion. "I mean, I admittedly needed a while to understand that. I wrote my own name on the first sheet stupidly. Shika figured it out right away." Inoichi glanced at has friend who only shoved his hands in his pockets. "At the top we had to write our team leader and name, but if the teams total points count, not your individual score, then the team leader is already enough information to count those points. And with Choza's name on all of the sheets it's pretty much impossible to figure out how many points he made and how many points we made. So, they can't kick any of us because we made too few points individually. They can't proof it." Inoichi blushed a bit as Choza looked at him with wide astonished eyes. "I mean we also had to fake your writing style, but I think it should work." He scratched his head awkwardly.

"That's so smart," exclaimed Choza. "Will that work?" He glanced at Sakumo questioningly. The other two also looked a bit worried now.

"Well, as long as you all wrote the same team leader on the sheet there shouldn't be a problem." He smiled at their suddenly worried looks. Secretly he really thought the question of team leader was the actually important one. There had been multiple ways to cheat out of this scoring system by using the name: Everybody writing the same name, mixing the names, not writing a name at all. There might have also been ways to cheat during the exams and give somebody the answers or steal them from others even if his team hadn't seen that. On top of that there must have been ways to communicate throughout the exam, as that was Takeru's own little passion. His team might have missed a chance there. But really, he thought, the more important question was not 'How many points did they make?' but the other question that had somehow been forgotten in this whole thing, so much so, that in Inoichi's explanation it had only really been a passing thought: Who was the team leader? Because for most Genin teams their team leader was their instructor. With Sakumo now out of the picture they were suddenly asked who their leader would be, and however easy that question sounded, if they screwed that up, it would be an automatic fail, he was sure of it. As a shinobi you could not walk into any situation – and be that an exam setting without knowing who your commander is.

"Eh …," Inoichi suddenly turned to his teammates, "who did you write in?"

"You," said Shikaku at once.

"Yeah, me too." Choza smiled.

Sakumo looked down at the Yamanaka. He too would have chosen Inoichi. Ultimately, when they had a bit more experience, when Shikaku was finally ready to take responsibility, he was sure the Nara would take over command because that was really what he was made for. He was the strategic mind in the team. But for now, Inoichi was the one they looked at for guidance. He only hoped Inoichi saw that too. Of the three, Inoichi would be the first to relinquish leadership to Shikaku. When it came to strategy, he rightfully knew that he wasn't up to Shikaku's level and would often push Shikaku into a leadership position where Shikaku still felt uncomfortable in. So, for a moment Sakumo worried, that Inoichi might have scribbled in Shikaku's name. However proud Inoichi was, Sakumo knew that the Yamanaka was at least tempted to do that.

But then Inoichi nodded. "Good." He shrugged as the other two grinned up at him. "I wanted to write Shika in at first, but then I decided differently."

Choza bumped his fist into the air in joy, while Sakumo used the time they waited for the results to survey the other teams. Dan Kato was waving at him as their eyes met. The older Jonin stood next to a team of twelve or thirteen-year-olds: an Inuzuka-girl and two boys without obvious clan signs. The competition, Sakumo thought a bit passively. If they'd pass their teams would be opponents.


	38. The Other Teams

This chapter update is a bit earlier than normal, I think. Sunday's my birthday, I go visit my family over the weekend, so I won't have much time to update anything.

Also this is the chapter where we get introduced to a whole cast of new characters. Give me a hint if it's too much. I have a tenency to introduce too many Characters at once and confuse my readers.

Greetings,

Ceies

* * *

 **The Other Teams**

It didn't take more than an hour for Takeru to make his way to the courtyard. He had a long scroll in his hand and hardly even looked up at the assembled Genin and their instructors before he coughed lightly and unfolded the scroll.

"The teams that have passed," he started explaining without even waiting for the gathered shinobi to quiet down, "will assemble on Training Ground Forty-Four." He waited shortly while everyone now had finally quieted down.

Sakumo looked around the other teams. Dan Kato and his team were not too far away, neither were Shinso's team or the other new Genin teams that had graduated this year. He still recognized some of their faces from back when he took over his own team. There were many of them, and he was sure at least ten teams of this year's graduates participated in the exams. He didn't remember another year with so many new Genin taking the test. Then again, there was hardly another year with so many Academy graduates in a single year either, because normally the Jonin instructors would send at least half the graduates back to school, while this year that secondary test hadn't taken place.

Most of the assembled Genin teams though were of older generations, some even already adults with faces that didn't reflect any self-confidence or hope that they might have passed.

"I will now read the teams and names that have passed. If I haven't mentioned your name, you haven't passed. You can later see your exact results or the reasons why you failed with the Academy staff. Thank you very much." He sounded more bored than Sakumo remembered him. Then he coughed again and glanced down at his scroll.

"In order from highest achieved points to lowest. Team Usagi," there was a bit of quiet cheering from a group of three teenagers, maybe thirteen or fourteen years old, while Takeru read their names.

One of them had spikey white hair and was obviously Dan Kato's younger brother, Usagi. Sakumo remembered only ever seeing him once or twice when he had been hanging out with his Tsunade and Dan. To this point he had even completely forgotten that Dan's younger brother was still a Genin. Big age gaps between children weren't exactly rare in shinobi families. Sakumo's own sister was six years younger than him and his brother had been five years older. The Hokage's third son Asuma had just been born while their oldest was already fourteen. Many shinobi when they started a family had their first child early, but the shinobi life wasn't exactly suited for grand family plans. One or both parents were out on missions for long periods and would hardly see each other or the child. Now, with the Academy in place and stable village structures that would offer safety for the children, raising and training them would often get preference before getting any new children. So, it wasn't uncommon now, that if a family wanted another child, they'd wait for the first to already be in the Academy. Of course, that wasn't always the case. In his grandfather's youth, before the village was built, shinobi had a lot more children in regular intervals, because half of them would not survive to adulthood anyway with the constant warring that would require children to leave for the battlefield as early as five or six years old. Still, the eleven-year-age-difference between Dan and his brother Usagi was uncommon even for shinobi standards.

Next to the young Kato was a lanky, tall Hyuuga with long, black hair and a wide, baggy kimono and a girl with curly brown hair. So that was the team with the highest marks of this year. Sakumo shortly glanced at Shinso Uchiha who was frowning in thought. Maybe he should have made these guys his rivals.

"Team Azami," was the next team that passed. That was Dan's team, he realized as the three kids around Tsunade's boyfriend cheered loudly. Actually, the only loud one was the Inuzuka, with the clan markings on her cheeks and a small ninja dog between her feet. There was a plump boy with shaggy black hair and another tall and muscular. That built made him look older than he probably was. Sakumo knew that Dan had taken over his team just last year so they couldn't be much older than Sakumo's own team. They looked older thought.

"Team Ikuto." Sakumo saw Kenoah Gekkou's younger half-brother, Ikuto for the first time today. But right, even he couldn't have made Genin too long ago. Two years ago, maybe?

"Team Shibi." Sakumo could see Shinso Uchiha smile quietly as Uchiha Mikoto and a young blond kid that must have been Aoyama Shota cheered loudly while the Aburame team leader hardly even reacted. Sakumo felt an unexpected pang that his team had apparently done worse than the other team of their year.

"Damn!" Inoichi muttered. "Hoped, we would outdo them."

"You still can," Sakumo tried, but then added, "of course only if you passed."

The next team that had passed was Team Saeko, a team of young adults who seemed rather surprised that they had passed as one of the better teams.

"Team Hanae," was a surprise to Sakumo but as he glanced over to them it wasn't that surprising after all. Shinso Uchiha might have said that Sakumo's and his own team were the strongest of their year but Team Hanae was no slack either, with three clan members between them. "Hoki Hanae, Kurama Satoshi, Senji Nawaki." Of course, as Sakumo scrutinized their members they seemed to focus on Medical Ninjutsu mostly. At least Tsunade's brother trained that skill, Sakumo knew, and the Hoki-Clan were a clan of medical shinobi.

"Team Inoichi," finally it was his team and Takeru didn't even look up as he read the names. Choza audibly let out his breath that he must have held. He'd grown visibly impatient with the last few minutes. Even Inoichi looked relieved, only Shikaku looked as excited as could be expected of him.

There were two more teams from last years graduate next. Then Team Doto. Doto Akimichi was a huge, heavy-set boy of maybe fifteen years, his team looked positively tiny compared to him, one of them was an Uchiha, the other from a civilian family, Sakumo guessed, because the name didn't ring a bell with him.

Then there was even a fourth team of this year's graduates. Team Daichi. Next to the team-leader there was a boy, Yuri Sato, with familiar features. He wondered if Yuri Sato was a cousin of Megumi Sato, the girl he'd sent to Yugakure to be taken care of long before the war, even before Kagami had died. They looked a bit alike, Sakumo guessed, but he hardly even remembered Megumi and hadn't really spent any time with her in years.

"Team Dai," declared Takeru and suddenly a grown man jumped up into the air with cheers and … tears of joy? Sakumo scowled as he watched one of the oldest participants in the exam cheer the loudest and most childishly. He had an odd look about himself, black hair, thick eyebrows and a mustache that made him look older than he probably was. He couldn't be much older than Sakumo, if at all. He had dirt on his green jumpsuit like uniform, and scraps on his hands and face and Sakumo only now realized that the man had done push-ups until just now and only jumped up when he had heard the name of his team. He actually cried in joy. Choza gawked at the man, while Inoichi too stared in confusion. "Might Dai, Yoshi Sonoko and Shuya." As Takeru read the names Sakumo remembered. When he had visited the Academy years ago to work for a new curriculum the Academy teacher their had told him about this man. Might Dai … what had he said? The eternal Genin, was that what they had called him? He certainly seemed to try to advance. He also trained a lot, Sakumo could see that at first glance. However, while the black haired man was truly ecstatic that they had made it on the list, even if they were the last team to pass and had just scraped by – Takeru was already leaving back into the Academy building – his two equally adult teammates looked more surprised and tired than happy with the news.

They met only half an hour later at the destined Training Ground Forty-Four. Unlike the areas he normally trained with his team, this was a dark and thick forest, fenced off and with restricted access only to Chunin and above class shinobi or, as it was today, for the Chunin Exams under supervision.

"It's called the Forest of Death," Sakumo explained to his students who made wide eyes and stunned faces. "It's access only for Chunin and above. The only reason you can enter now, is because there are half a dozen Chunin and your Senseis around keeping it safe." He winked towards a frightened Choza, but then he stopped in his explanation as another Jonin stepped up to greet them.

"Twelve Teams, huh?" asked the kunoichi after a swift glance through the assembled teams. "And I thought they'd make the written test extra hard, since there are only three stages." She shrugged after another glance at the young Genin. "Well, no problem. I'll bring you down to size and then we'll see, who has it in them to become a Chunin." She was a short woman, with wide hips and breasts and long brown hair that reached almost all the way down to her back even though it was neatly braided. She was a bit older than Sakumo himself. Maybe already close to thirty. Sakumo thought, he had seen her once or twice among the Hokage's bodyguard division, but he never had a mission with her, so she was just a face to him.

"I'm Yamamoto Kokoro," she introduced herself as she scrutinized the Genin with bright blue eyes. "And I'm your instructor for this next part of the exam. This part of the exam will consist of Team battles. Now…," she raised her hands impatiently as already some of the Genin were celebrating that fact. "I know, what you're thinking. You might've trained team battles for the last months and think you'll be so great at it. Now, it won't be that easy." She glanced up into the sky shortly. It was already darkening a bit. It wasn't late, but it got dark a bit early these days. "We'll have the first part of this stage of the exams right away, for the second part, I'll need those who make it that far back here tomorrow."

"Those who make it that far?" somebody repeated. Sakumo thought it was Aoyama Shota from Shinso's team.

"Yeah, well," Yamamoto shrugged. "Becoming a Chunin is not as easy as becoming Genin." She smiled evilly. "This second stage will consist of two parts. The first today and the second tomorrow. We will give each team a Mission-like assignment, with these assignment, two teams will always compete against each other. The winning teams can come back tomorrow. Of those competing tomorrow the Hokage, me and a Jonin committee will decide who deserves a promotion. If you don't make it today. Well, you can always participate next year." She smiled again.

"But we'll be able to compete in teams?" the kid kept asking. "So, the whole team will pass or no-…" he was abruptly cut off, as a kunai shot in his direction and was caught just a finger-width in front of his nose by his Sensei. Shota stared at the deadly weapon with a face as pale as ash without daring to say another word.

"Let me explain, then you'll know," Yamamoto explained sweetly.

"I'd appreciate it, if you refrained from trying to murder my students," Shinso mumbled and threw the Kunai back at her.

Yamamoto just shrugged once more. "As I was saying … the teams that pass today will make it to the next half of this stage. However, tomorrow you will not compete in the same teams you are used to, but instead we will mix the teams, so each team-leader will have an all new team to lead and might even end up fighting his own old teammates." She threw a challenging glance at Shota as if daring the boy to ask anything else. "If you wonder who your team-leader is, the leaders are the shinobi and kunoichi you have written on your written test as your leader."

There was a short moment of silence, then she spoke again. "Well, if everybody has understood. Here are the rules for this first half. We have separated the Training Grounds behind me into six areas that you can see on this map." She pointed at a new map that was pinned on the fence. Indeed somebody had marked six different battlefields and a bit of no-mans-land in between the six fields. Each field was more or less rectangular and covered different landscapes, hills, mountains, a bit of water or open field. Each was big enough that two or even more teams could fight comfortably in it, but that they also wouldn't need more than an hour maximum to leave the battle field at any given moment.

"Each team will get a gate," she pointed at one of the many gates through the fence, "and a battleground assigned to them. Use the marked pathways between the battlegrounds to get to your field. Your Senseis will position themselves at the far edges of your battlefield and play the role of Hokage and back-up for today." She smiled sweetly in the general direction of Dan Kato and another Sensei that she was apparently close to. "Both you and your opposing Team will have a scroll such as these," she showed the teams a blue scroll with the Konoha symbol on it. "Your mission is to protect your own scroll and steal the enemies scroll by any means necessary. The team that manages to deliver both scrolls to their Sensei wins. If a team only brings back one scroll, but the other team can't retrieve their scroll, the team with one scroll wins. If both teams only retrieve one scroll, or both fail to retrieve any scrolls at all, neither team will pass, unless a team was completely annihilated on the battlefield. Fighting is only allowed within the dedicated battlegrounds, those who leave the battlefield, can't reenter or participate in the fight. Those team-members, who leave the battlefield on the side where the opposing sensei waits, lose automatically, can't reenter the battlefield and will have to give up all their scrolls to the opposing team." She smiled again, this time at the Genin. "Everything understood?" She looked around, but it didn't look like anybody even dared asking a question, even if Sakumo didn't think they had understood all of it.

"Perfect. Get your scroll, get a map, draw your gate and battlefield number, and go to your gate. We have arranged it so, that any of you should be able to reach their battlefield in an hour at most from where their gate is. Your sensei will go with you but are not aloud to give you any help. A blue flare will tell you when you can enter. You have to bring your scroll to the battlefield, beyond that, it's up to you."

* * *

Sooo, after Dan I just introduced a new character. Couldn't go fo too long without actually bringing in some Springtime-of-the-Youth-Action! Might Duy enters the field! Also introducinge Nawaki Senju this chapter (and he's already 12, so that doesn't sound good!)

Next Chapter title, as a short teaser, because maybe you're just as happy to finally have him in the story as I am: The Eternal Genin.

I hoped you enjoyed this. As I said, give me a hint if it's too many new names at once. I tried to tone it down and focus on the important once for now. There will be even more characters introduced later on. For now, I tried to do it as ... easy as possible. This was really difficult. I introduced Shinso and mentioned his team (Shibi, Mikoto, Shota) earlier, Dan last chapter, this chapter was suppoed to focus on Usagi Kato (Dan's brother), Might Duy and the proctor Yamamoto as new characters and mentioning the names of many others we will focus on later on. I hope it wasn't too much. If yu haven't picked up on all of them it's not that bad, They'll all (are at least supposed to) get their time to shine and show their skill later on. But if you're head is now swimming with new names, tell me, that wasn't the intent.

Greetings, Ceies


	39. The Eternal Genin

Hey,

I've been a bit lazy in regards to writing lately, instead I found myself drawing a lot ^^ So, while I try to inspire myself for the next chapter I thought i share the results :D

i86 dot servimg dot com/u/f86/17/58/85/23/sakumo10 dot png

* * *

 **The Eternal Genin**

"This area is huge," Shikaku mumbled as he glanced over the map. "Loads of space to hide or prepare."

"Which means we won't see our opponent coming. If they are faster than us, they might have already prepared everything and are hiding in the trees," surmised Inoichi.

"And we don't even know, who our opponents will be!" Sakumo wasn't sure if Choza sounded afraid or excited. Maybe a bit of both.

"What do we do with our scroll?" Inoichi asked after a moment. "We should come up with a plan."

They had reached Gate twenty-four just north of Battle-area C and were waiting for the sign to start.

"I'd just give it to Sensei right away," Inoichi thought loudly, but we have to first bring it to the battlefield. Sure, we could send one to bring it to him at once, but whoever would do that wouldn't be able to reenter." Inoichi sighed annoyed. "I'd just send Shikaku, you'd be safe and could still come up with a plan. But," he shrugged, "I guess planning also counts as participating." He looked at Sakumo who didn't give any signs or hints. Inoichi was surely right, but if he wanted to try and cheat that would be his decision. It would probably lead to expulsion from the exams, since that was clearly against the rules. But that too would be Inoichi's responsibility as leader.

"So, what else?" Choza asked after a moment in which Sakumo didn't answer. Both Inoichi and him looked at Shikaku then.

"I thought about that," the Nara finally admitted, then he emptied his weapons pouch. "We could fake a scroll that looks exactly like this one." He pointed at the mission scroll. "We could just recolor this one too and hide it with one of us where they wouldn't expect it." He looked at Choza. "With you, maybe. Inoichi's the team leader, they'll automatically assume it there. I'm the strategist and I'll mostly keep to the back of the battlefield, once they figured that out, I'll be the second person they suspect. So, I'd give the original to you, recolored so they won't expect anything. And I will hold onto the fake one."

Choza grinned. "Yosh! I promise, I won't lose it! I'll protect it with my li-…" Before he could even finish, Inoichi had hit him over the head with the palm of the hand, but he didn't say anything.

That was, when Sakumo spotted the blue flare in the sky. "Look," he pointed to the signal, then he opened the gate and let his Genin through while he followed at a more leisurely pace keeping them in view, but giving them enough room, to do their own thing.

They recolored the scrolls before they reached the battlefield. In the end, because of the recoloring they had to hurry a bit to even make it in time. The battlefields and the pathways in between as well as the dedicated areas for the Sensei were marked with red and blue tape. It was really easy to find the way, even more so with the map.

From where his team entered the battlefield there was mostly forest, but according to the map there was a river somewhere and several patches of high grass. From the other side where the other team entered it was a bit hilly. If it weren't for the trees and hills Sakumo would probably be able to see the entire field from his point of view, but as it was, he only saw forest. No need to worry though, as his team assembled in the forest already inside the battle-area, Sakumo used a Doton to raise himself high into the air, where he could get a bird's view of the surrounding areas. He realized then, that he wasn't the only Jonin who had had that idea. A bit in the distance he could see a different pillar of earth and stone rise into the sky and just opposite him there was the sensei of there opponent's team. Sakumo wasn't able to recognize him from the distance, though, so he summoned a pair of binoculars from his scrolls. He hadn't expected to need them today, but they were part of his standard – though not mandatory – equipment. Binoculars were just so useful.

Even with the binocular he couldn't positively identify the Sensei on the other side, because he didn't know that man, so instead he searched the area on the other side for signs of this team. It took him a while before he spotted something. A bright green bodysuit, hidden between pine-trees.

He immediately recognized the man: Might Dai, the adult who had been so ecstatic about passing the first part. He remembered the dirt and sweat on his jump suit. An odd man, but somebody who obviously trained more than just about anybody Sakumo knew. This could be tough. Just by age and physique the other team was physically superior to Sakumo's much younger team. On top of that they were sure to have more experience. On the other hand, the fact that none of this other team had made it to Chunin by now spoke a lot about their skills. It was extremely uncommon for Genin this old to still participate in the exams. It wasn't out of the imaginable that a shinobi would never get past genin no matter what, but normally around age twenty to twenty-five they would often realize that maybe they just didn't have it in them, maybe they lacked the skills or dedication or instinct of a shinobi. It was not uncommon for these older genin to change their career path after all, or at least stay stagnant in their current class without ever trying to pass the exams again. It was possible that people failed and failed the exams, not at all uncommon for there to be some teams that already participated for the fifth or even tenth time, but most would give up at some point. He remembered what he had heard about this man, Might Dai. The eternal Genin he was called, not because he was the only adult who was still a Genin, this happened more often than one might think, but because, Sakumo suddenly realized, he stubbornly refused to give up. Maybe he really had no talent at all, but he did have the dedication, that much was clear from the way he carried himself.

Sakumo watched as the two teams came closer and closer towards each other. Team Dai progressed a lot faster than Team Inoichi who only made one step at a time. Inoichi was probably careful, Sakumo guessed. He could sense that all three opponents had better chakra reserves than his students, which was fairly understandable since they were almost double their age. Their chakra leaked out with little to no control, almost stupid amounts of chakra they lost just walking through the woods, Sakumo could smell it even where he was. No chakra control whatsoever. The female member of their team had better control, but the two males were leaving a trail of chakra in the air – even more because they were stressed and ready to fight. It would be an easy thing for Inoichi to find and trace them. But great amounts of leaked chakra, was also a point of concern. It either spoke of bad chakra control – as Sakumo suspected, who could already see them move from his heightened position – or of horrendous chakra reserves or a combination of both. So Inoichi moved his team with much care, trying to avoid any risks and staying in a tight formation with Choza at the front and him and Shikaku further back close enough to each other that they could always jump in and help.

On the other side, Team Dai progressed fast, Sakumo lost sight of them every now and then, but with his binoculars and heightened senses he was able to trace them more or less all the way to the center of the battlefield where the two teams would inevitably meat. Dai was faster then his other two team-members. He seemed much more eager and enthused judging from their movement. Having an eager team member was always a good thing. However, in a team with the other members not being nearly as energetic it could get dangerous, Sakumo new. Dai got ahead of himself with his team lacking behind, and when the two teams met, they weren't really in the center of the battlefield but much closer to Sakumo's side.

Might Dai was the first who attacked. He went right for the first opponent he saw: Choza. And he was fast. Damn, he was fast. Sakumo was fairly certain that he himself would be able to keep up, but not Choza or his other two students. And it seemed effortless for the green-clothed Genin. With just one swift kick against Choza's feeble defense he kicked the heavy Akimichi right out of their formation. Inoichi tried to meat the second attack, but he stood no chance. The opponent was not just faster, but also much stronger than any of Sakumo's eleven-year-old students. And judging by how much he trained that he looked the way he had after the written exams, his stamina was also much higher.

He was stronger than all four of his students combined Sakumo realized within the first two attacks of the stranger with dread in his stomach. Was this as far as his team would come in this years Chunin Exams?

The eternal Genin didn't even seem to break a sweat as he kicked Choza around, the only one in the team to offer some form of resistance. There were a few short moments of inaction and sometimes Sakumo could here voices but he didn't know what they were saying because they were too far away. He didn't think his team had a chance at defeating this man. Not yet, anyway. As he watched the older Genin move Sakumo thought it was ridiculous that this man was even still a Genin. The Eternal Genin … How had he failed so many Exams before with this level of skill …

But right … that was it. Dai was strong, but there was a way to defeat him. There was a reason why he hadn't yet made Chunin although Sakumo, just from watching him now even so far away trying to keep up with the movements through his binocular, judged this man to be at least Chunin, more likely even Jonin level. There was a reason though he didn't have a rank. He was fast, incredibly so, strong, much stronger than Sakumo's own team, and dedicated. But he was not intelligent, he lacked the cold instinct of a shinobi and his teamwork was abysmal. And teamwork and intelligence were what Ino-Shika-Cho excelled in.

This battle was far from over, even though it looked like it already was.

Sakumo could see the glaring issues in Dai's fighting even from where he was watching so far away. He was eager, so eager indeed that he ha stormed forward leaving his teammates behind. On top of that, as he looked for the other two members of Team Dai, they didn't even seem to try and get closer. Sakumo understood then: Might Dai was the dedicated one, he was the one who wanted to make Chunin, the other two however had given up. Maybe they agreed to participate in the exams as a friendly turn, a way to help a comrade out, maybe Dai had annoyed them until two of his fellow Genin had agreed. It couldn't be easy to still find a dedicated team at this age, and it was almost impossible to get into a younger team, because even if a young team needed somebody to jump in for one of their teammates who may have already made Chunin, they'd look for a promising Genin they new about. Even if Dai was very likely the strongest Genin in Konoha, it didn't exactly speak in his favor that he was still a Genin. So, Team Dai consisted of one man who really wanted to make it, and two adults who had already given up and only follow to do Dai a favor. Once Sakumo had understood that much, it was easy to guess who the leader was, who the only threat was and who held the scroll they needed to find. This was essentially a battle of one very strong man with two millstones around his neck dragging him down against three young and inexperienced shinobi, who were inferior in just about every physical aspect, but who worked hand in hand to make up for that.

Once Sakumo had realized that, it would only be a question of time, he assumed, until Inoichi or at least Shikaku would figure that out. And for as long as Choza occupied most of Dai's attention, the other two could think. That was another issue Sakumo realized right away. It looked like Dai was holding back. He wasn't the type to hold anything back for his own sake. He went right in, straight forward and with crushing strength and might. But still … Sakumo could only guess, but it looked like Dai upon seeing himself against three children that he might be able to just break with his strongest attacks, he held back just a bit. Not in speed – he didn't give Choza or any of the others a single moment to retaliate or catch their breath – but he held back in strength. That was the only way how Choza managed to tank several of those hits. He was pushed back, of course, and increasingly injured. But he did hold.

And that was the third aspect. Dai with his mighty attacks pushed Team Inoichi back. It was something that happened naturally but that way he not only pushed them back into territory they were more familiar with than him, because they had already crossed it once, but they also came steadily closer to Sakumo.

Those were three factors that Team Inoichi could use, three factors that made this battle not quite as decided as it possibly looked like. Three factors that gave Inoichi, Shikaku and Choza a fighting chance. And if he knew anything about his team, then that they would make it count. Shikaku was exactly the kind of guy who given the time would be able to come up with a strategy to victory using those mistakes Dai made. And that was exactly what Choza, and Inoichi too, where trying to do. Buying time for Shikaku to come up with the plan.

It was grueling to watch. Sakumo's team retreated faster, just that they didn't run away in full-on panic. Then suddenly, they actually ran, fled the sight of the battle and stormed towards Sakumo. The battlefield wasn't that big. At full speed they would be able to reach the safety zone in less then fifteen minutes. They didn't make it very far though, until Dai had caught up to them. He was so fast, that Sakumo was sure, when he actually tried, even he would have trouble keeping up. Maybe, though, that was his team's luck, that they had some experience training with somebody who was much faster than them. At least, they used the same stalling techniques they had used on him during their more recent training matches. Shikaku's shadow's wouldn't be able to stop the enemy entirely from moving forward, and he couldn't keep that up for long, especially not while he was moving himself, but Dai was severely slowed by having to constantly dodge the shadows.

That strategy only worked for a short time though. Then Dai had caught up to them, not just caught up but put himself in between Team Inoichi and the escape route. They were only a few hundred meter, a short sprint away from the edge of the battlefield so that Sakumo didn't even need his heightened position to have full view of them. He climbed down from his Earth pillar and watched the happenings right in front of him.

"Finally got you," Dai breathed a bit heavily now, while Team Inoichi looked thoroughly out of breath. "That was good work, boys!" he gave them an enthusiastic thumbs up, then he glanced over their shoulders looking for his teammates, but they had left them far behind. Whatever would happen now, would happen without their help. Dai seemed confident that he had won. "That's the spirit! But I'm sorry, but you'll have to give me that scroll. You were really tough, but I won't just let you go!" He smiled a bit and seemed to genuinely regret that he'd have to kick three so spirited kids out of the tournament. He raised his hands in fist, unwilling to take them too easy, but he also seemed to not want to hurt them too severely. "Now, give me all you've got!"

He was an odd man, Sakumo realized once again, as he watched this opponent cheer his opponents on, as if he wanted them to give their best.

"Alright!" Choza exclaimed. "Baika no Jutsu!" This time he didn't just grow his hands or arms for an attack, but his whole body practically exploded to giant size. He was huge and fat and round.

"Yeah!" clamored Dai with the broadest smile. "That's the spirit! Give me all yo-…" He suddenly cut himself off in confusion. Sakumo knew why, but he hadn't caught up to the fact yet.

"Kagemane no Jutsu, complete," declared Shikaku in Dai's dumbfounded silence, the evening sun right in his back. It was an easy strategy. If the opponent was too fast to catch him, in a shadow, make the shadow so big without him noticing, that he can't even think about escaping in time. Choza's giant shadow bathed the whole forest in front of him in darkness, Dai standing right in the middle of it. All Shikaku had to do was take possession of Choza's body and since Dai stood in that same shadow, he had control of Dai as well. Then everything went very quick. Shikaku turned around and ran, Dai mimicking his movement, suddenly full-on sprinted towards Sakumo. He was obviously fighting against the Nara's shadow possession, both looked focused and stressed and their movement slowed down immediately after the initial moment of shock had passed. Then however Inoichi's Mind Transfer Jutsu hit and he managed to push Dai just a bit further towards the edge.

"CHOZA!" screamed Inoichi through Dai's mouth and a second later Choza's giant fist hit Dai exactly the moment Inoichi released his control over Dai. The older Genin didn't have nowhere near enough time to react, never mind dodge and Choza hit him right in the chest throwing him back several meters.

Dai would be able to get up from the attack, Sakumo was sure, but the combo and being hit in the chest with a giant fist wasn't something to just shrug off.

As soon as Dai came to a sliding halt, he suddenly exploded in hot waves of chakra. The eight inner gates, Sakumo realized impressed.

"You're great!" he cheered as he went straight to his second gate. "Let's go!"

But before he could move Sakumo stood next to him with a hand on his shoulder holding him tight. "Stop." For a moment he thought Dai's movement were so strong that he would just drag Sakumo with him, but then Sakumo managed to steady himself and stop Dai dead in his movement. "You're out."

He could hear and loud cheer from Choza and an exhausted sigh from Shikaku, but he only had eyes for Dai. The black-haired man stared at him with wide eyes. He was in Sakumo's age, the Jonin realized. His facial hair made him look a bit older. He was also a bit taller. But now that the Genin looked at him with wide round eyes, Sakumo realized he couldn't be much older than him at all. Maybe two or three years. He seemed completely stunned, then he looked down at his feed that had indeed passed the edge of the battlefield.

The chakra around him immediately calmed down as he closed the gates again, but he was breathing heavily just from the strain of opening them. "Damn," he mumbled, "damn!" He repeated the curse again, louder this time, clenching his fists. Then he suddenly looked up, grinned the broadest grin Sakumo had ever seen and gave the three boys in front of him a flashy thumbs up. "That was amazing boys! But next time, don't think you'll get me that easily again."

With that he shrugged Sakumo's hand off and handed his scroll to the Hatake. He didn't linger for long but left back to his team to tell them, that they had lost. As he went, Sakumo could see his head drop slightly in disappointment.

"Easily?" Inoichi huffed as soon as Dai was gone falling on his butt. "He's kidding right?"

"Yeah, I thought we were done for," agreed Choza as he handed Sakumo their own scroll. "How's he so strong. He's just a Genin like us."

"Nothing like us," sighed Shikaku. "He was stronger, faster, had better stamina and more chakra. If it weren't for the rules of this battle, we would have lost without a chance." He was sitting on the forest ground leaning back on his arms breathing heavily. "Don't know how he's not a Chunin yet."

Sakumo had to agree. Even more so, since obviously what they had seen, this had just been the beginning. The eight gates. Sakumo didn't like this technique, it was dangerous, volatile and potentially more harmful to the user and their comrades than to the opponents. But if Dai was that strong and that fast without any gates, with the gates he'd be a challenge even for Sakumo himself. Depending on how many gates he could open, he was potentially one of the strongest shinobi in the entire village. But still … only a Genin.

It didn't make sense.


	40. New Challengers and Old Failures

**New Challengers and Old Failures**

Kenoah's halfbrother, Ikuto cried when his team limped back out of the Forest of Death to meet back up with all the other teams. They were in the quiet company of their Sensei who didn't seem to console them but looked at least sympathetic. One of his team-members, a boy with spikey black hair did the consoling. The other teammate, a short kid with brown curls looked even more distraught than Ikuto himself.

Sakumo's team weren't the first to make it back to the meeting points, Team Usagi already waited for them, their opponents sitting huddled in a corner, injured and bruised and with long, drawn faces. Team Inoichi hadn't taken long to complete their mission. They had forced the opponent out of the ring and thus ended the fight prematurely. So, Sakumo had assumed they would be among the first to complete their mission. Most of the other teams would probably fight it out to the bitter end. As such, he was surprised to not only find a team already waiting for them, but find it in a calm state, uninjured with opponents looking like hey had taken a beating.

Team Usagi, the Team of Dan's brother, was a force to be reckoned with, he realized. Because he was watching his own team, he hadn't been able to scout the competition, but the fact that they won so quickly, and judging by the opponent's state not via ring-out, suggested he should take them seriously.

Team Dai trickled in shortly after Sakumo's own team. Dai who had apparently tried to pull himself together right after the fight, had in the mean time broken down and been reduced to a crying mess. He was consoled by his team-mates who reassured him, he'd done a good job, but while he didn't really seem too depressed or distraught because of his loss, he also didn't stop crying. It was a mess.

It was then, that the next two teams came in. Ikuto's team on the loosing side, beaten up and bloodied, and Team Azami with their Sensei Dan in the lead following after them. Dan's team had also taken some bruises, but they seemed mostly fine. At least they looked better than Team Inoichi. Sakumo's three students looked like they should have lost their fight. If it weren't for Dai's loud crying the other teams would be excused for assuming exactly that. Choza had bruises and was limping a bit, Inoichi had a broken nose, and Shikaku looked tired from chakra exhaustion, though that didn't look much different to his normal tired state.

Dan winked at Sakumo and then waved at his younger brother, as he passed by. His students were trailing behind him, one of them, the by with the shaggy black hair held his arm somewhat awkwardly.

"Aw, man!" Sakumo suddenly heard a boy cry out from the edge of the clearing. "Damn, we're only fourth!" A blond kid stomped on the clearing looking eagerly between the Genin, until his eyes zeroed in on Inoichi. "Ha!" he stomped towards Inoichi and pointed with the finger at him. "You look like shit, Ino," he smiled, "what did you get all beat up? Who did you fight!" He glanced around again but couldn't deduce from the looks of the other teams who the opponent was. "Well, doesn't matter, huh? You don't look like you made it, though."

"What do you want, Shota," asked Inoichi annoyed but glaring at the other blond while still trying to stem the blood flow from his nose.

"Ah, nothing, if you lost. I wanted to fight you, damn Ino!"

"We didn't lose," Choza piped up happily.

"Wha…? But you look all beat up, man!" He pointed at some of Choza's worse bruises. "You look worst of all, Cho."

Sakumo could now finally see Shinso and the rest of Shota's team emerge from the woods. The Aburame kid in his wide coat and with his hidden face stood back quietly with their sensei, while Mikoto Uchiha watched Shota with a bit of an exasperated smile.

"Our opponent was really strong!" Choza explained with a wide smile. "Beat me to a bloody pulp. We only won because we could push him out of the ring."

"Don't tell that idiot, Cho," grumbled Inoichi glaring at Shota. "He can figure it out himself if he wants to."

"You're just embarrassed, Stupino," blurted Shota. "I bet, I could have crushed your opponent. We did really good."

"You have a nasty bruise there," retorted Inoichi, "doesn't look like you've been doing well, at all. Bet your team did all the hard work!" Indeed, there was a dark bruise forming around Shota's left eye.

Shota crossed his arms defensively. "Yeah, what do you know? At least I'm not making a mess bleeding everywhere."

"Come on, Shota," said Mikoto who had walked over to the angry boys. "Don't be like that."

"He started the insulting!" retorted Shota angrily pointing at Inoichi.

"Listen, to Mikoto, Baka-Shota, before you embarrass yourself," agreed Inoichi.

"Ino …," muttered Choza reprimanding.

"What, Cho? Don't tell me you've forgotten, he was the worst in class. The worst. Can't even do a simple Kawarimi. I don't have to let myself get insulted by this …"

"Just let it be, Ino," asked Choza, "don't be like that."

"Well, he was right in my face!" Inoichi pointed angrily at the equally angry Shota. "I didn't ask him to come over, but he started it."

"Just stop it, both of you!" demanded Mikoto in a quiet but dangerously impatient voice. Inoichi seemed to listen to her at least and snapped his mouth shut, still glaring angrily. Shota however didn't want to quiet down.

"Shota!" Shibi Aburame clamored from his position at the edge of the clearing still next to Shinso. "Leave it. We'll just show them tomorrow."

Although Sakumo couldn't see much of the Aburame's face behind his coat and glasses, he was sure he heard the kid smile challengingly. Inoichi heard it too. For a moment he glared angrily back at Shibi, then he huffed in annoyance.

"As if," muttered Inoichi, grabbing Choza at his shirt and dragging him back to Shikaku as if it had been Choza who was in danger of exploding. "Shika! Get your ass up and give me a strategy how to beat that piece of shit tomorrow!"

Shikaku just smiled innocently. "I fear, you'll have to come up with that plan on your own."

"Huh?" both Inoichi and Choza seemed confused at that.

"What you don't remember. Tomorrow they'll mix the teams up. Might be I'm not even in your team. I could even team up with one of them. So, I'm not going to give you a strategy to beat me tomorrow. Nah, you'll have to do it all on your own." He yawned, seemingly unaware of how Inoichi glowered at him.

"You're a horrible friend, you know that?" asked Inoichi challengingly. Then, however he smiled with sudden dedication. "Well, fine. I'll do it without you, but don't come crying to me, when I beat you up tomorrow!"

"Huh, what?" Shikaku suddenly blinked surprised by the challenge. Had he himself not realized how challenging his own words just now had been? Well, now he had an especially eager Inoichi at his hands.

"Tomorrow, I'm going to crush you! You too, Cho, and those idiots."

"Ino …," Choza answered in a whiny tone, but then he swallowed and nodded. "You're on! Don't think I'll go easy on you!"

"Good." Inoichi looked back challengingly at Shikaku, who stared at his two friends utterly dumbfounded. Then he just shrugged in perfect nonchalance. Sakumo couldn't suppress a grin. This was hilarious to watch.

It was then that the last two teams arrived with Yamamoto close behind them. "Well," she started looking around the teams. "We've monitored your battles today. The teams who advance to next round are Team Usagi, Team Inoichi, Team Azami, Team Shibi, Team Doto and Team Hanae. Meet back here tomorrow at six. Whoever comes late, fails immediately," she added after an annoyed pause. "Tomorrow we'll monitor the battles again and decide who to promote to Chunin based on your performance. Eat before you arrive, we won't make a breakfast or lunch break."

It was already well into the evening and pitch black dark when they were finally dismissed. He ate with his team, gave them some hints on their performance today and tomorrow to iron out some of their mistakes. Recently, Choza had acted as the punching bag a bit too often for his liking. He mostly just waited for the other two to come up with a plan. It was a well-enough strategy as long as he was with Inoichi and Shikaku, both highly intelligent and able to come up with a strategy, especially Shikaku who did so regularly and without fault. But with and especially without them, Choza had to learn to take the initiative, too.

After the meal he dismissed them too. It was only by coincidence that he met the Hokage on his way back home. He was walking threw the streets apparently coming himself back from a supper outside of his office, maybe with his family, when he was stopped by an ANBU appearing in front of him. Sakumo only turned the corner, just when the ANBU appeared and saw the two shinobi exchange some few words before the ANBU agent disappeared again.

"Are you spying on me, Sakumo-san?" asked Hiruzen bringing Sakumo out of his thoughts.

The Hatake blushed a bit, feeling embarrassed and caught. "No," he answered at once, keeling himself somewhat clumsily because he hadn't expected to basically run into the Hokage unawares. "I just turned the corner."

"But you did see my ANBU, didn't you?" Hiruzen asked with an amused twinkle in his eyes.

"Yes, Hokage-sama." He hesitated shortly. "I didn't hear the words, though."

"I would hope not," Hiruzen smiled minutely. "Stand up Sakumo-san. No need for this right now."

Sakumo stood up at once, nodding.

"We need allies," the Hokage explained unquestioned. "With Uzushiogakure gone …," there was a heavy pause, "we have lost our most trusted and powerful ally." The Hokage quietly glanced into the darkness for a moment.

"And with Kiri and Iwa likely working together, we have a powerful alliance against us," said Sakumo in understanding.

Hiruzen nodded. "Negotiations with Suna will likely fail," he explained after another moment.

"Was this what that was about?" Sakumo asked with a general gesture indicating the ANBU that had just been there. He didn't really expect an answer, though. "A few years back, I killed two Suna-nin in a mission," he remembered, "I can't imagine that helped our relationship with them."

Sarutobi Hiruzen smiled wistfully at that. "No, me neither. They are still out for revenge. Do you know of Hundred-Poisons Chiyo?" he asked. "It was her son and daughter in law, you killed. She swore revenge when they were laid to rest." Sakumo had heard of her, of course. He ha also heard of her wish for revenge. "She is a trusted councilor and friend to the Kazekage. She and her brother, they are not … eager for an alliance." Hiruzen sighed.

Sakumo hadn't killed them by choice. It had been a mission for Konoha. Still … "If this is all, that stands between us and an alliance that we dearly need …" He left it unsaid that he would gladly give his life for that. After the war, preferably, as it didn't do for Konoha to lose a powerful shinobi only to win a feeble alliance. But even then, it might be worth considering. He didn't voice it aloud, because the Hokage interrupted him with a tired sigh.

"No …," he murmured after a moment of thought. "Their grudge against you is but one of many reasons this alliance won't work. We have to try, but it will likely fail. Not just because of you, though. Konoha and Suna haven't been friends for many years." Sakumo knew of course, after all back then, there'd been a reason he'd been given a mission to retaliate against Suna in the first place.

"If there's something else I can do," he offered purely pro-forma, because he knew here likely wasn't anything, and if there was, he'd be given a mission like any Shinobi of the Leaf.

"How did the first part of the Exams go?" The Hokage asked. "I hear your team made it."

"They did," Sakumo answered. "They are a bit battered, but they should be ready for the last part tomorrow. They've learned a lot recently."

Hiruzen nodded with a small smile on his lips. "Three teams of this years Academy graduates passed the exams. And another team from last year. Four out of six teams are thirteen year or younger," he looked proud at that, "it's a promising generation. I'm looking forward to tomorrow."

"Me too," Sakumo said with a smile. He was about to excuse himself and leave to meet Akane at home, when he thought about something else. He glanced at the Hokage questioningly. "Might Dai?" he said just the name as Hiruzen raised an eyebrow at him.

"What's with him?"

"I saw him fight today. I heard of him before, the Eternal Genin they call him, but this was the first time I saw him fight."

"And?" Hiruzen seemed genuinely interested in his opinion. "What did you see?"

"I don't understand," Sakumo answered honestly. In truth, he probably did understand, but still … it didn't make sense to him, even if Dai clearly had his flaws, he was powerful, powerful enough to be a Chunin at least. "He's strong. Chunin level at least, Jonin level with those gates of his." He frowned. "I don't know how many he can open, but as easily as he jumped to second gate, he might be able to do six. I don't know if I'd be able to keep up with that, myself."

The Sarutobi nodded in agreement, so he knew about Might Dai's skills.

"How is he not a Chunin, yet?" It seemed ridiculous.

"By the rules of this village there is only one way to become a Chunin. You have to pass the Chunin Exams," explained Sarutobi. "Might Dai is without a doubt by now the strongest Genin in the village, probably stronger than most Chunin and some Jonin. But he didn't pass the Chunin Exams, yet."

Sakumo nodded. He had understood that much. "How is that possible?" He hesitated for a moment. "In the later stages of the Chunin Exams, it's up to you who passes and who doesn't. It's not like he has to win every fight. In the end it's your decision, Hokage-sama. Don't tell me, he never made it that far."

"He made it … once or twice, in his earlier attempts, when he wasn't ready, yet. Back with his old Genin team." The Hokage shrugged. "He participated in the Exams every year for the last ten years."

Sakumo stared at the Hokage dumbfounded. There was at least one Event every year, sometimes two. So what? Might Dai had failed more then ten attempts. Despite his strength. "How?" he asked confused. It didn't seem right.

"His story isn't mine to tell, but you must have realized yourself," said the Hokage.

"He's trying hard," Sakumo stated confidently, "his team isn't though."

"They are not his team," Hiruzen answered. "His first Academy Team passed the exams long ago."

"I reckoned as much," Sakumo said. "They looked as if he had just roped them in, to have a team at all." The Hokage nodded without providing more information. "He trains a lot," Sakumo stated next. From what he had seen, Dai must train more than any of them to look as run down as he did. His clothes had the tell-tale signs of hard exercise all over them. He understood then. "He leaked out too much chakra …," he stated more to himself then to the Hokage and the Hokage didn't answer.

Might Dai didn't have much natural talent, still to this day only mediocre if not outright bad chakra control. He trained hard, though, that was his talent. Hard enough, that in time he would probably surpass them all. The idea itself was intriguing. Sakumo himself trained a lot, but he wasn't as dedicated to his training as this man. He did respect hard work though. With time, this man might even surpass him. However, it was only natural, that by the time he slowly worked to catch up to everybody else his teammates advanced without him. And once they and most of his peers had passed the exams, he was lumped in with the small group of no-good Shinobi who'd never amount to much, because they lacked the talent, dedication, training and will to go the next step. It didn't help then, that he himself was willing to take the next step, if there was nobody willing to take it with him. Genin could only participate in the Exams in Teams. And without at least a decent team, even the most dedicated and talented couldn't do anything.

The idea still bugged him, though.

"Do you understand now?" asked the Hokage finally.

Sakumo shook his head still. "I do, but I don't understand why you don't put him into a good team he can work with. He's strong enough to even be Jonin by now, and we need strong Shinobi on the battlefield, don't we?"

"We do," the Hokage admitted, then he sighed. "But do you know the kinds of qualities we look for in a Chunin?"

"Leadership, judgement," he answered automatically thinking about his own Chunin Exams and what Kagami had told him then. The Chunin Exams tested a number of traits needed for any Chunin. A Chunin had to be able to take leadership in a team, he had to be able to understand a situation immediately and come up with the best course of action. A Chunin was also a Shinobi with more responsibility than a Genin, thus he had to follow the Ninja rules, know them by heart, be an example to others, and be willing to fulfill missions given to him, even if he didn't like it. Of course they needed to be strong enough to deal with these situations, but more than that it was important that they understood the situation they were in.

Might Dai, he didn't even need to think hard about that, did not have these qualities. He was a strong fighter, incredibly so, but not a good shinobi. Too emotional, too brash, too straight forward, too easy to fool. Even now, with – what? 25 years old he still forgot the subjective of the mission, and charged straight at his opponents, failing the mission spectacularly without an actual plan. He wasn't a good leader. He was a powerhouse, sure, but not suited for leadership.

Now, not every Chunin had to be a leader. That was preferable of course, but there were enough Chunin out there that much rather followed, however, they had to know that much. A Chunin had to be able to judge himself and his abilities with enough objectivity to know when he was not suited for leadership. For as long, as Dai didn't understand that, and looked for just two friends following him, leaving all the hard work to himself, instead of looking for somebody with enough judgement and leadership skills to understand a situation and rein him in if necessary, he would never pass.

Sakumo nodded then. "A good leader should be able to bring out the best in even a mediocre or week team. A good leader if given the choice, should not just pick random people for his team, but look at what skills he can use. Even more so, a Chunin who does not have the qualities needed in a leader, should know not to assume that role." He explained all that more to himself than to the Hokage.

He Hokage sighed and nodded at that. "You and he," Sarutobi thought out loud after a moment, "are basically opposites. It's very curious, now that I think about it: Good judgement in any given situation is something you have in abundance and he utterly lacks. On the other hand, you could do with some of his ambition."

Sakumo nodded quietly.

He understood now. It didn't sit right with him still. This man could be a powerful ally to Konoha. He had the potential to work himself up to the top. But as long as he didn't understand these basic things, he'd be a liability more than anything on the Battlefield. A powerful man, but not a shinobi at all. It was wrong. It wasn't like he was mad or begrudging Dai of the fact that here was a man, who could make a difference but didn't. Rather, it made him sad. Shinobi … the only job where too compassionate, too dedicated, too honest, too kind and too humble made you utterly unsuitable for it. He could see it clearly now.

If Might Dai, instead of letting them call him the 'Eternal Genin' showed the shinobi of Konoha what he could do, if instead of asking his friends for help, he pushed himself into a more suited team, if instead of being so grateful to his friends for joining his team at all, he also demanded that they pulled their weight, if instead of being compassionate and holding back when fighting against kids he went full-force early on, if instead of wanting to win a straight and honest match, he'd have focused more on the mission at hand … If any of these things had been different, Might Dai would have won today, or he probably would have made Chunin long ago. As it was though, the way he was, he was a good man but utterly unsuited for the job of Shinobi.

Sakumo had been in a rather good mood after his team's performance during the exams. Now, as he came home, he felt tired and sad, and he went to sleep immediately, so that he couldn't lose himself in his thoughts.

Did he like being a Shinobi? He wondered. What a stupid question to ask.


	41. New Comrades in all new Teams

**Hi,**

this is a bit of a late and relatively short update. Sorry about that.

Also, I lost my beta reader. I wanted to inform you about this. She read through the first quarter or so of these chapters, but couldn't really get into the story. It's quite the big problem, so I can't really be mad about it, but I wanted to use the opportunity to tell you that the story might not get beta read after all.

The longer the story gets the more difficult I think it will get to find a new beta reader :/

* * *

 **New Comrades in all new Teams**

"Team leaders, step up!" Yamamoto Kokoro demanded after the greeting. It was early in the morning and still dark. The assembled Genin looked tired, be that because of the early hour or the exhaustion of the day before, Sakumo didn't know. "Come here and stand before the others."

Inoichi looked a bit sour as he walked up and stood between Usagi Kato and Hanae Hoki in the line of shinobi and kunoichi that had been chosen by their teams as leaders. The Yamanaka looked as if he regretted being named leader almost as if now of all times, he wasn't so sure anymore. He was only an eleven-year-old kid, Sakumo remembered, even if his birthday was only in a few weeks.

"You'll draw your team from this basket," Yamamoto said, waving with a straw basket in her hand that had the names of the other twelve Genin in it. Later I will draw the match-ups, and we'll let the matches commence one after the other. Your mission will be the same as before, this time, however, you will have a much bigger area to fight in. However, each team will have only a three-hour time limit to complete the mission."

So, there were three new aspects that made this challenge more difficult to succeed in. Bigger area to cover, unknown team-members and time-pressure.

"So, unlike yesterday, you can also fail the mission by time out. We will monitor you all throughout the fight," she nodded at herself, the Hokage, Takeru Hyuuga next to her and the assembled Sensei including Sakumo behind her. "No matter the outcome of the first round, you all will also have a second attempt with an all new team and team leader."

She waited for a moment. "So, if I win both fights, do I automatically p-…" Aoyama Shota came to a sputtering halt as the Jonin glared down at him. Yamamoto wasn't a very short woman, but as she stared him down, he seemed to shrink in front of her.

"No," she finally answered. "We will decide based on your individual performance. Losing twice, of course, doesn't bode well for your chances of success, however, even if you win twice, there's no guarantee for the promotion. Understood?"

She asked in a way that Shota only nodded even though judging by his pout he still had more questions.

"What are you looking for then?" asked Azami Inuzuka suddenly, not frightened by Yamamoto's volatile nature. Instead the short Inuzuka-girl glared challengingly from the line of leaders over to the Senseis and examiners.

Yamamoto seemed annoyed at first, her eyebrow ticking impatiently, then, however, she just sighed. "We'll look at your individual performance. That is everything. Your fighting skills, your judgement, how you handle the mission and the pressure, your teamwork, in your case, since you assume the position of leader, your leadership skills. In short, everything."

Sakumo watched as Inoichi crossed his arms in front of his chest, glowering darkly as he listened to the list of things they'd look out for. Sakumo didn't know whether he looked defensive, worried, angry or determined. The Hatake knew, however, that specially the last part would be difficult for Inoichi. The Yamanaka had it in him to be a great leader, but it wasn't a secret to his Sensei, that Inoichi preferred Shikaku would take up leadership. He did it, because Shikaku was simply not ready, which didn't mean he was happy about it. Inoichi himself knew, that his strategies and tactics weren't flawless and couldn't hold up to Shikaku's, so when he took the leadership position it strengthened him, to know that Shikaku would be there to point out mistakes he made. Without Shikaku he was on his own. However, Sakumo had faith in him. Shikaku himself might have bigger problems with these all new match-ups, he feared. In fact, he worried least of all about Choza. Of the three, the Akimichi might be the least ready to become a Chunin, but he was a people's person and would give his all no matter his team. Of course, he would miss his friends, and nobody would be able to use his skills as effectively as Shikaku or Inoichi did, but his own performance wouldn't suffer from the new team.

"If you're ready now," Yamamoto started again a bit exasperated, "I would ask the team leaders to draw two names for their team." She handed the basked with the names over to Aburame Shibi to pick his team first. While the Aburame boy unfolded the two pieces of paper he handed the basket to the Azami Inuzuka and so on.

When it was Inoichi's turn to unfold his teammates names he glowered darkly at one of the names for a while, until Yamamoto brought him back to the present declaring that the first match would be between Team Inoichi and Team Shibi.

"Team Shibi vs. Team Inoichi go first. Who are your team-members?" she asked.

"Hachiki Hyuuga," Shibi read first. He looked for the only Hyuuga in the group of young Shinobi before him. Hachiko was a tall and lanky boy with long black hair and a serious face. With his wide kimono and Shibi's long coat they looked almost a bit similar, hidden behind their clothes. He was more than a head taller then the younger Aburame. Hachiko was originally a member of Team Usagi, remembered Sakumo, the team that had not only passed the written exams with flying colors but who also finished their mission yesterday first and almost entirely unscratched.

"And," Shibi looked back down on the second piece of paper, "Hideyoshi Matsubashi," he looked around the other Genin. Unlike the Hyuuga this wasn't an easily recognizable member of a big clan. The kid that stepped up was one of the older boys assembled. Sixteen years old, Sakumo guessed, with golden locks and a shy smile. He waved it his two new team-members. Although he wasn't particularly tall for his age, since he was quite a bit older than Shibi he still towered over him, which left the Aburame positively dwarfed by his team.

"I drew Enji Shiranui," started Inoichi and a boy with shoulder long straight brown hair. He was tall and muscular even though he couldn't be much older than Inoichi himself.

"Yosh," Sakumo could hear Dan beside him grinning as the boy made his way to stand next to Inoichi. "He's one of mine," he explained at Sakumo's raised eyebrow. There was a broad smile on his face.

As Enji took position next to Inoichi he put his hands in his pockets and glanced leisurely over the other Genin waiting for their last member.

"And … eh," Inoichi frowned, then sighed and started again, "Shota Aoyama," he said with little excitement.

"What!?" The blond Genin suddenly jumped up and pointed at Inoichi with an enraged face. "I don't wanna fight with you, flower kid! Couldn't you have …" he quieted suddenly as he realized everyone was looking at him. Then he crossed his arms, glowered at Inoichi who glared back at him. "Well, fine, but don't think you can order me around, Yamanaka!"

"Just don't get in my way, Useless," retorted Inoichi, before he dragged Enji to where they were supposed to enter the training grounds. Shota followed them with a rebellious pout on his face.

"This is going to be interesting."

As Sakumo turned around to see who had spoken, he saw Shinso behind him, hands in his pockets an amused chuckle on his face.

"Yeah?" asked Sakumo, "it looks more like it's going to be a disaster."

"Oh, stop it, Sakumo," that was Dan as he put a hand on Shinso's and Sakumo's shoulder pushing them to the monitoring room, they had erected a bit outside of the battle area. "It's going to be fun." He laughed as both Shinso and Sakumo only frowned at that. "I'm sure," he added, "our students will find their way. Although, isn't that Shibi-kid also one of yours, Shinso-san?" He seemed to remember only now.

"He is," he seemed to think for a moment, "I'm actually looking forward to this. Between Inoichi and Shibi I don't even know who Shota wants to beat more. Maybe he'll even work with the other two to defeat Shibi …"

"Is he that bad?" wondered Sakumo aloud. Shinso's student had made quite the impression over the last days, but Sakumo had thought he maybe just had something against Inoichi personally. Not against Shibi, too, his own teammate."

"Well …," Shinso thought about the question for a moment. "Not really. Shota-kun was the worst in his year. Of all the graduates he had the worst grades. He gets competitive especially with the upper echelon of his years. After Shibi, Mikoto and Hanae Hoki," Shinso nodded at the other Genin that were following them into the monitoring room to watch the battle on big screens. The two girls were walking next to each other among the crowd of children, "Inoichi-kun was number four in his year, and second of the boys. Shota is especially eager to show those two that he's not as useless as they may think he is."


	42. The Will of the Leader

Hey there,

I know last week I said I probably wouldn't look for a new Beta anytime soon, but then...well, the Beta came to me.

So this chapter was beta read by **lovingbrothers**. Thank you so much for your hard work this week.

So if you notice an increase in quality, you probably have her to thank for that.

I hope you enjoy this chapter.

* * *

 **The Will of the Leader**

As the two teams went to the battlefield, Sakumo and the others entered the monitoring room. It was a small hut with just one big room and an adjourning bathroom. On a table in the corner was a desk with a number of water bottles waiting. However, the most dominating furniture in the room was the wall with different monitors showing a live feed of what was currently happening in the different parts of the dedicated battle area.

Most of the monitors showed just empty forest or a quiet brook. Some picked up quick sights of animals in the area. On two monitors, though, the onlookers could see the two teams crouching hidden in the woods to brief each other on their skills. They could see Shibi Aburame, Hideyoshi Matsubashi and Hachiko Hyuuga talking in hushed voices, so quietly that the feed barely even transmitted what they were saying.

On a different monitor, Enji and Inoichi talked quietly for a few minutes, then they turned around to Shota. The blond Genin stood a bit away from the others, arms crossed, scowling at the other two.

"What can you do?" they heard Inoichi ask after a moment in a condescending tone.

"Why would I tell you?" Shota bit back.

"We're a team, Shota, just tell us something!" said Enji in a much calmer but a bit exasperated tone. He still had his hands in his pockets.

"I'm not going to tell the dickhead anything."

"It's not like you can do anything anyway, useless idiot." Inoichi frowned, then glanced back at Enji. "We'll just do it without him."

"But that Aburame-kid is from your team," Enji interrupted, "can't you at least tell something about him?"

"Why would I? Flower-kid thinks he can do it all by himself. Just let him!"

"Flower-kid?" asked Enji obviously confused while Inoichi blushed red.

"On his free days, he's selling flowers with his mum, it's really cute," explained Shota gleefully .

"Shut up!" retorted Inoichi angrily.

"Why do you have to be team leader anyway. I could do it way better than you I bet!" He pointed at himself.

"Yeah, sure," Inoichi huffed sarcastically, "it's not my fault that your team didn't name you Captain. They probably knew you wouldn't be able to lead shit."

Shinso sighed next to Sakumo. "It sounds bad. Well, at least Shibi is going to humiliate your team leader, Hatake."

Sakumo had to remind himself then that Shinso, of course, wouldn't be able to see the camera feed. But still … they were talking loud enough that at least for now, he couldn't miss the argument, even if he couldn't see it.

"What?" cried Dan, "no! They just have to pull themselves together. Come on, Enji."

As if he heard his Sensei's plea, it was then that Enji spoke up. "Stop it, guys. Don't you want to win this fight?"

"Not if I have to listen to dickhead here," retorted Shota.

"I knew, this wasn't going to work when I saw your name. Just stay here, and don't get on my nerves, Useless! Enji and I can-" he was suddenly interrupted by Enji.

"What? No, what kind of leader are you, man? Can't you even lead two people?"

That was the crux of the story, Sakumo assumed; Inoichi's big problem: Although he had all the skills and talents to become a great leader, he didn't want to be one. He was only willing to take the role as long as Shikaku wasn't ready. But that only worked out because Sakumo's team worked well together. They trusted each other, stood on each other's backs and made each other stronger. One of their greatest aspects as a team was that they were close friends that worked perfectly in sync. Without the other two, each one of them would face a different challenge.

Inoichi was used to a team that wanted him as their leader and trusted him as such. He was, however, not used to a team that challenged him in his role. He never had anybody in his team who wanted to seize leadership, someone who would challenge him every step of the way and wait for their opportunity to wrestle leadership away from him.

If Shota managed to wrestle leadership away from Inoichi , both of them would likely fail the exams. Maybe Enji still had a chance depending on his actions, but Inoichi and Shota … A leader who couldn't lead was useless, and a potential mutineer was just straight up dangerous.

"What do you mean?" asked Inoichi, but he sounded a bit meek as he did so, "we can absolutely do this alone."

"You really think so?" asked Enji with a sarcastic smile. "Don't get ahead of yourself."

"See Yamanaka, even Enji here thinks you're a shit-leader!" That was Shota again, with a triumphant smile on his face.

"What, you …!?" But behind Inoichi's anger, Sakumo could see him think. Something in Enji's last words must have made him aware of the problem he was in. Inoichi knew the ninja world and their rules better than anyone else in Ino-Shika-Cho. He was more in sync with them than Sakumo had been at his age, possibly even now. Inoichi knew what was expected of him as a team leader.

"And I thought you wanted to defeat Shibi, Shota." He suddenly said. "Didn't you always say, you'd show him, back when we were in school?"

"What?" Shota was suddenly surprised. "Sure, but not with you. I can still do that by myself!"

"Can you?" Inoichi asked sarcastically. "So what? You're just going to give up without a fight? This is the first actual fight between you and you don't even try."

Enji seemed intrigued by the conversation. He put his hands in his pockets again and waited with a silent smile on his face. He was smart, Sakumo suddenly understood. He was also a bit older than his teammates so maybe the added experience would help, but this kid knew what he was doing.

Sakumo looked at Dan. The man next to him reflected his smile. Had he known his student would be able to salvage a possibly impossible situation with just a few remarks?

"I wouldn't just give up," Shota answered unsurely. "I'd try by myself, of course."

"But in a three-versus-three the odds are much better, then three versus one," said Inoichi. He looked a bit annoyed, but he seemed to forcibly stay calm.

"Sure, but …" Shota suddenly stopped and bit his lip.

"But what?" asked Inoichi.

"What do you even want, Inoichi! You'd think I'm useless anyway!"

There was a sudden pause after that outbreak in which Inoichi just blinked at the other kid.

"Oh," he said after a moment.

"Eh? I'm sorry?" It was more of a question than an actual apology. "It's just …," he bit his lip, "you couldn't … I mean, at the Academy?"

He seemed put off by Shota's last comment. As if there were things he wanted to say to explain himself, but knew it would only make it worse if he reminded Shota of how bad he had been back then.

"Yeah? Well, I know I was the last in my class. But I trained a lot. Don't act high and mighty, just because you had better grades! You always do that, damn Ino!"

"So, tell me!" retorted Inoichi at once. "How am I supposed to know, that you got better if you refuse to tell or show me?"

Sakumo was worried now for a completely different reason. On the other screen, Team Shibi had started moving and was approaching fast. Shibi Aburame used his trademark bugs, while Hachiko Hyuuga activated his Byakugan to find their opponents. Between those two, there was no question who would locate the opponent first,

Sakumo sighed. Inoichi was too distracted arguing with Shota. "Get your head in the game, Inoichi," Sakumo muttered.

.

"Fine!" retorted Shota, pointing at both Inoichi and Enji aggressively and speaking way too loud for Sakumo's liking. "I'll show you, dickhead! Then you're going to admit, that I'm stronger than you."

"So, are we fine now?" asked Enji a bit impatiently.

"I think so?" answered Inoichi more like a question.

"Yeah," blurted Shota, "let's beat Shibi up, damnit!"

It was only now, that Inoichi put his attention away from Shota and stared frowning into the forest. He hadn't only made a few steps leading his team deeper into the woods, when he suddenly halted. "What …?" he gasped. "Guys, there's something … urgh!" He screamed the warning, right as a swarm of bugs was upon them, then he only made a disgusted sound as the bugs were all around him.

"Those are Shibi's," explained Shota hastily. "Get away from them, Ino, they'll eat your chakra!"

Inoichi didn't really need the warning to fight his way out of the swarm of bugs, though Sakumo thought other than the danger of getting his chakra sucked out of him, it was disgust that made him pull away.

"Enji, can you do something about it?" he asked blindly into Enji's direction. He managed to stumble out of the swarm for a moment, but they came in from three different sides and would soon be upon all three Genin again.

"What?" he heard Enji ask loudly, "what do you …? Oh, wait!" It was difficult now, to see what exactly was happening, because the bugs were all over the place, flying in front of the camera. "Hold your breath!"

There was a sudden flash, then a smoke bomb went off somewhere because they could see the thick cloud take what little view they had left.

"Smart," congratulated Dan next to Sakumo.

"Hm?" asked Shinso.

"That Yamanaka-kid was immediately able to remember and incorporate Enji's skill-set. He uses poisons," Dan explained.

That explained the smoke bomb. When the air cleared, they could see that most of Shibi's bugs had died, but they had a different problem, as they were immediately attacked by a powerful wind-jutsu. Then, suddenly, the Hyuuga appeared in their midst. They had used the wind attack to get rid of the remnants of poison, and while Enji had had time, to give himself an antidote, he hadn't had time yet, to hand them to his two teammates.

"Retreat!" they could hear Inoichi's command.

"What?" asked Shota surprised, who was about to attack the Hyuuga. "We …"

"Retreat!" repeated Inoichi, "we don't know where the other two are and they caught us unawares."

There was also a chance they were affected by their own poisons, but Inoichi didn't mention that. Instead, he immediately used a substitution technique to get away from the Hyuuga who had turned against him immediately.

Shota seemed disappointed with the command, but both he and Enji followed suit immediately.

That first encounter could have gone better, but at least they had reacted fast enough. However, Team Shibi reacted just as fast as they did. The Hyuuga was immediately after them again, and a series of wind-jutsu destroyed the cover Inoichi, Enji and Shota were hiding in.

While Inoichi managed to just barely evade the Hyuuga Enji at least seemed to finally be able to give Shota his cover-up. By now, Team Shibi's strategy was clear; with the Hyuuga and the Aburame and whatever that Matsubashi-kid could do, they had more than just an edge when it came to finding the opponents. Finding and catching them unawares and then never relent on the attack. It was an easy strategy but effective when you had the perfect skill-set that you could easily find them, even when they were hiding. On top of that, it seemed like two of the three had long ranged attacks, so while Hachiko Hyuuga with his Byakugan was almost unbeatable by the other three Genin in close combat, the other two could hide away and stay safe.

"Help me out, Enji!" came the plea from Inoichi who was having trouble evading the Hyuuga and was already injured on his arm. It wasn't crippling, but any hit by a Hyuuga was potentially dangerous.

Then there was a fire-ball by Enji Shiranui. The kid was good, Sakumo had to admit once again. The attack was well aimed so that the Hyuuga had to jump away to safety. Inoichi immediately started running towards the rest of his team who drew up in a defensive position. He was immediately hit by an antidote at the first chance Enji had to hit him with a needle.

"There are more bugs incoming," warned Shota. "Shibi needs a moment to replenish them once they are …" his words trailed off.

Swarms of black dots were coming towards them.

"Good," said Inoichi, which prompted the other two to stare at him.

"What do you mean, good?" asked Shota hysterically.

A sudden lack of noise and eye contact between the three boys made Sakumo realize that Inoichi had finally switched to using telepathy for communication.

"What are they doing?" asked Dan in confusion. "Oh, can Inoichi already…?" He seemed impressed with the realization.

"I can!" Shota suddenly said in a decisive tone. "I bet! Come on!"

Inoichi seemed doubtful, but then he nodded, apparently unwilling to fight with Shota again.

Suddenly, everything happened very quickly. While Enji jumped into the woods to his left, Shota suddenly rushed the Hyuuga. When Inoichi formed the square with his hands instead of the triangle, Sakumo knew what strategy he had chosen.

"Shinranshin no Jutsu," he huffed the Jutsu's name. The Mind-Body-Disturbance Technique allowed the Yamanaka to control the nervous system and thus the movement of several different creatures. Unlike with the more basic Mind-Body-Switch Technique, the user didn't send his own consciousness out but only his chakra. It was a highly risky move, because it cost a lot more chakra, even more so, depending on the target, and it was even more difficult to uphold, then the Mind-Body-Switch.

But it was perfect if Inoichi had to face a numerical disadvantage. Normally, Sakumo would have advised against using that ability. Normally, when used against decently strong opponents, it left Inoichi completely bereft of chakra, but this time, it wasn't people he was using it against, but Shibi's bugs.

And bugs, however powerful they might be in a swarm, were tiny, with little will-power and chakra of their own, easy to manipulate by Inoichi, even in high numbers.

The swarm suddenly dropped to the ground as Inoichi got used to the strange nervous system and movements of the bugs, then it took flight again, rushing the Hyuuga who had all eyes on Shota and only now realized that he was rushed by his own teammate's bugs.

He immediately started rotating around himself to defend against the bugs, but although he was good, it wasn't enough. Every now and then, a bug got through. It wasn't that tragic though, as the Hyuuga soon realized, that although Inoichi controlled the bugs' nervous system, his skills weren't sufficient to use the bugs to drain chakra. It served as a good distraction for Shota, though.

The kid was fast. With explosive speed, he was suddenly behind the Hyuuga, close enough that he could just embrace him with his arms. There he stayed. It was almost ridiculous to watch, as the Hyuuga screamed in surprise and outrage, tried to fend Shota off but couldn't.

"What's he doing?" asked Sakumo.

"Shota?" asked Shinso back. "What is he doing?"

"Is he hugging Hachiko? I don't get it?" Dan sounded equally confused.

"Ah," Shinso smiled. "When Shota finished the Academy, he didn't have much going for him. He was always rushing forward, right in the thick of it, but he didn't really have any skills to sustain him there. He has earth chakra nature, though, so, well …" Shinso shrugged, "the two of us spent the last few months, trying to figure out his solution. He likes Taijutsu a lot, it's also the only one he has decently strong attacks in, but even in Taijutsu, he's not outstanding. So, we came up with a way, that he could use his earth style as an armor. He can harden his skin to a point where even he can't move his joints anymore." Shinso smiled proudly.

"So now, he still rushes into the thick of the danger, and he still hardly dishes out any damage at all, but at least now, he won't go down that easily anymore, at least not by force alone." He laughed lightly.

"If he got so close to the Hyuuga, that he can hug him, that Hyuuga won't be able to get rid of him anytime soon."

"What the …?" said Enji as he came back out of the woods. He was dragging an unconscious Matsubashi behind him. The almost unhurt state of the sixteen-year-old suggested he had been poisoned. "Well, you weren't lying when you told me, once you had him you wouldn't let go, huh?" He laughed.

"Stop laughing and knock him out!" blurted Shota angrily. "Just cause he doesn't hurt me, doesn't mean it's not annoying." He obviously referred to Hachiko's furious kicking and head-butting.

"He was exactly where you said he would be," said Hideyoshi to Inoichi, as he gave Hachiko a sedative that knocked the Hyuuga out.

Shota apparently needed a moment, before he could undo his jutsu and get away from the Hyuuga. "That wasn't bad," recommended Inoichi, who had spent the time, killing off the last bugs that hadn't fallen victim to the Hyuuga's Rotation.

"None of them have the scroll, though," commented Enji after a quick search.

"I feared as much," said Inoichi. "We need to find Shibi." He looked at Shota. "Do you know how far he can reach with his bugs?"

"He shouldn't be able to control them from more than a mile away," thought Shota out loud. "Let's go get him!"

"No, wait." Inoichi seemed concerned, as he looked around the forest. "With two of his comrades out, he can't hope to defeat us in a direct attack the way he wanted, too," explained Inoichi with a frown.

"So, either he'll try and save his comrades or he'll try to wait out the remaining two hours to force a draw. With an area as big as this, he should probably be able to do that." He looked at the two captured opponents with a troubled frown. "He's a tracker and sensor, so he should be able to hide, and his bugs will likely be able to follow us everywhere so, he'll always have eyes on us."

"So, what then?" asked Enji. "I could try to use the poison to force him out of hiding, but …," he shrugged.

"You'd probably run out of chakra before we find him. That way we might all run out of chakra, and in the end, he can just come in and take the victory after all."

"Man, that's stupid," said Shota.

"We should make sure …," Inoichi started. "Let's get these two out of the battlefield first. When they are out of bounds at least he can't free them."

They watched as Shota and Enji dragged the two unconscious prisoners to the edge of the battlefield and pushed them over the edge, where they were welcomed and treated by proctors and medic-nin. Inoichi in the meantime focused on finding Shibi with his sensor skills or at least making sure they weren't suddenly attacked.

Minutes passed. Inoichi took over a bird to use the bird's eye view to get a sight on the enemy but came back empty-handed. Shota in his frustration made them traverse the forest by food. It seemed to be no use. The Forest of Death was big enough, that while you could cross it in just a few hours when you were in a hurry, several people could hide in it for days without ever meeting.

Half an hour had passed and to everyone's frustration, Shibi obviously planned to save his result over the time. Shota was so frustrated that he screamed empty challenges into the forest. But Sakumo and apparently Inoichi and Enji too understood well enough, that in Shibi's situation, waiting for a time-out was the best chance he had. And Inoichi didn't find a solution.

Forty-five minutes had passed when Enji and Inoichi looked like they were ready to give up the search.

"Damn, Ino, think!" Sakumo could hear Shikaku behind him. "He's only got a mile range, and he will want to keep his eyes on you. Think man, there aren't that many places he can hide."

It was clear that Shikaku already had several solutions to find Shibi. Sakumo himself was a bit surprised that Inoichi came up with nothing for so long. Sakumo too had a few ideas, how to find Shibi. If Inoichi couldn't find Shibi from a bird's view and if Shibi kept eyes on Inoichi's team to monitor them, but stayed out of Inoichi's own sensory range, then there really weren't that many places left to hide. The idea to smoke Shibi out wasn't completely without merit either. All of that would yield better results than Inoichi's current unorganized search. But time was ticking by and soon there wouldn't even be enough time left to corner Shibi in that big of an area. There were quite a few options if Inoichi only found them.

"Come on, dickhead!" provoked Shota. "We can't just give up. He can't be that far away! If you have no other idea, let's use Enji to smoke them out!"

"What did you say?" asked Inoichi suddenly.

"Eh?" Shota seemed surprised. "Dickhead? Not like it's the first time, I…"

"No, the other thing," Inoichi said annoyed. Shota blinked stupidly. "You said to smoke him out. Man, I'm stupid. Enji! Kill all the bugs around us, would you? Just in case?" Enji used his poison and did as commanded after giving each of them a second dose of the anecdote, just in case, as their first one was already over an hour past.

"Good. We should have about an hour left. Listen, I think he's keeping eyes on us. He has to, to make sure we don't accidentally stumble upon him. If he isn't, we're screwed and I'm out of ideas, but if he is. Let's smoke him out, quite literally. No poison. Use your fire Jutsu. If we place it right the wind should do the rest to spread it, until it forces Shibi out of hiding."

"You want to burn down the freaking forest? Are you insane?" asked Shota stunned.

"I want to win!" answered Inoichi. "It's the only idea I have."

"Stupid kid," Yamamoto muttered next to the Hokage. "We can't let him burn down the forest. Did you teach him that recklessness, Hatake!" She blurted over to Sakumo who ducked his head in embarrassment. As good as a plan that was in terms of how likely success was, it was true that it was a bit reckless.

Burning down the forest and the danger to the wildlife … If it were an important mission for the village and the forest wasn't close to any civilian villages, maybe that would be a viable option.

However, it was pretty clear to all, that nobody wanted the Forest of Death burned down just for an exam. "Hatake, Uchiha, Kato!" Yamamoto blurted the names of the Sensei's of the still fighting students, get ready. We'll end the battle on my command." The three men nodded a bit awkwardly. "Where's Aburame hiding?"

They could see Shibi hiding between a tree and a rock, but he was moving, apparently worried, that his bugs had lost sight of the enemy and he couldn't get a location from them. Meanwhile on the other screen, they could see Enji, Inoichi, and Shota split up and move. They moved in a way, that should Shibi follow Shota and Inochi, he would have Enji at his back.

Shibi apparently did exactly as expected. Sakumo guessed he hadn't even yet found Enji who was well-hidden behind bushes now, while the other two made a bit of noise to draw Shibi's attention to them. The bug user likely realized it was a trap but had no option than to fall for it. Not knowing where Enji was, was bad, but losing contact with all three of them would be even worse.

"Get ready!" Yamamoto bellowed at Sakumo and the two men beside him.

Sakumo, Dan and Shinso hurried out of the monitoring room to wait at the edge of the battlefield. From here they couldn't see what was going on, only that a fire started a bit away from them.

"NOW!" Yamamoto yelled from the door of the monitoring room, "hurry, before they burn down the entire thing!"

Sakumo went full speed after Inoichi's and Shota's scents while Shinso ran to where they had last seen Shibi on the monitors. Dan hurried to find Enji. There were other shinobi entering the battlefield around them, to quench the flames.

It only took him a few minutes to find Inoichi and Shota.

Shota instinctively moved to attack Sakumo, probably thinking it was Shibi before he recognized him. He stumbled and fell to the ground.

What?" asked Shota in surprise.

"What are you doing here, Sensei?" asked Inoichi, confused. "The time's not yet up, right?"

"No, but this round is over," declared Sakumo. "We don't really want you to burn down the forest."

"Oh …," made Inoichi, as if he only now remembered that burning down the forest might go a bit overboard for a simple test or training mission. "I'm sorry, I didn't …," he bit his lip. "So, what? It's a tie, then?" He seemed angry at himself, as he said that. "Damn, that's my fault."

"What, no!" blurted Shota to Sakumo's own surprise. "We were great. This was super fun, dickhead! We should have won. You can't just change the rules," he yelled at Sakumo, "that's unfair, we almost had Shibi!"

"I don't know," admitted Sakumo hands raised to calm the kid. "I don't know how the proctors will decide."

"It was a stupid idea," mumbled Inoichi guiltily. "Sorry, Shota, I blew it."

Sakumo said nothing. He disagreed with Inoichi, though. Somehow, the Yamanaka had stepped up to the challenge and become a leader here. The decision to burn down the forest might be a bit too much for the test scenario, a small lapse in judgment, but they couldn't exactly blame the Genin that they took this mission seriously. If this had been a real and important mission and burning down the forest had been the only option to win it – or the only idea Inoichi could come up with – then it wasn't entirely out of the question to go through with it.

Of course, it depended on the scale of the mission, nobody would burn down a forest to find a lost cat, but if it was life or death for the village …

Sakumo didn't immediately share his thoughts with Inoichi. He wanted Inoichi to come to his own conclusions first. If in hindsight Inoichi could find a better way to solve this dilemma, Sakumo wanted him to find it.

So, instead of reassuring Inoichi that he had fought a good battle, he just led the kids back to the monitoring room where Shibi and Shinso were already quietly waiting for them.

* * *

Also,

last week I got a really long review to one of the prior chapters by a guest called knk. I just wanted to thank you for your review on this way. You were of course right with your questions. How this situation was handled wasn't fair in regards to how prior conflicts were handled. But I feel like sometimes the ninja world is unfair. You mentioned the example with Neji's dad. Other than that though, the attacks weren't really perpatrated by actual rogue shinobi. The reason for the conflict between Konoha and Suna here (though Sakumo isn't privy to the details) was that the Kazekage and suna didn't really distance themselves from the perpatrators.

I hope that was understandable :D


	43. A Heavy-Weight Combo

Hi,

first and foremost I wanted to apologize for the long break. I had to do some stuff for university. Overall I have to spend more time with my studdies now, so I might not be able to write as fast as I usually do. And I'd like to give my beta reader some time to catch up, because she has a life to, after all ^^

So, I wanted to update now, to not let you wait too long, but I probably won't be able to keep up with the weekly updates as I did before.

I hope you enjoy this anyway.

* * *

 **A Heavy-Weight Combo**

"So, who won?" shouted Shota as they arrived back at the meeting place.

Yamamoto pursed her lips for a moment, maybe reluctant to say it, but finally, she nodded. "Team Inoichi wins. Had we let you follow through with your plan, you would have smoked Shibi-kun out of his hiding place." She glowered at Shota, Inoichi and Enji who just arrived with Dan. "The tactic was a bit over the top, though. Did you even think about the repercussions of a spreading forest fire?" She crossed her arms, but behind her, Sakumo could see the Hokage smile fondly.

"Did you hear that Sensei?" Shota cried in happy excitement, turning to Shinso and raising his fist in victory. "I won, yeah!"

"I heard," Shinso answered with only the hint of a smile.

"I beat a Hyuuga!" boasted Shota.

Sakumo could see Shibi just cross his arms and look away. With his glasses and the coat covering most of his face, it was difficult to say what he was thinking.

"Technically, I took Hachiko out," corrected Enji smugly.

It didn't really seem like that particular argument was even all that important to Enji. When Hyuuga and Matsubashi came from the woods last, having recovered from their injuries, Hachiko grumbled: "Shota took me out. Didn't know what to do against that." He seemed a bit embarrassed by it.

"Ha!" blurted Shota, while Enji just shrugged in nonchalance and left to talk to Dan about his performance.

Sakumo didn't turn to talk to Inoichi just yet. He still wanted to give the boy time to come to his own conclusions. Instead, he turned to Yamamoto and the two next genin team leaders who were about to read their teams for the next match.

Hanae Hoki was a young kunoichi of the same age as Sakumo's team. She had a rather plain look with short brown hair and brown eyes and the average built of a young child. Most Genin her age had a rather athletic look, Hanae, however, was clearly not at peak physical condition. It wasn't all that surprising, he thought, her clan produced some of the most capable medic-nins and were not normally trained for combat. The team she originally belonged to was clearly focused on medical ninjutsu.

Her rather unimpressive physique seemed even more striking as she stepped up next to the biggest boy who had made it that far into the exams. Akimichi Doto was a heavy boy, about fifteen years old, already taller than some of the assembled adults. The big boy had a spiky mane of long brown hair and green markings like serpents on his cheeks, with the body shape of a trained Akimichi. Hanae seemed a bit intimidated as she glanced up at him.

"My … eh …" she glanced up at Doto, then she started again, "I've drawn Yuuki Namiashi and Toriko Hagane."

As she said the names Sakumo looked around to find the two named Genin. He didn't know either of them, but judging by Dan's enthusiastic clapping, one of them was in his team. The Hokage's eyes twinkled cheerfully as Sakumo saw his gaze shift from Hanae to another girl standing in the back of the room.

"Go, Toriko," cheered Enji as he pushed his teammate forward. Toriko was a somewhat plump boy with shaggy black hair. He smiled shyly at Hanae, then waved at his other teammate.

Yuuki Namiashi was a lithe girl of maybe thirteen or fourteen. She was in the same team as Usagi Kato and Hachiko Hyuuga, who patted her encouragingly on the shoulder as she stepped forward. Her curly brown hair swayed with every step she made.

Of course, size didn't always decide the victors but just one glance around the team made it clear that Team Hanae's best option would be to avoid close combat altogether. Doto would probably crush them. Still, Yuuki did not seem overly concerned about the odds. While Toriko and Hanae was both clearly intimidated, Yuuki just threw a quick glance at her two team members and raised a hand in greeting.

"I'm Yuuki. Nice to meet you. Let's win this, shall we?" She smiled even brighter as her teammates just stared at her, but before they could acquaint themselves any further, Doto spoke up.

"My team consists of Hazuki Uchiha and Choza Akimichi."

Sakumo almost laughed. Two Akimichi … Two Akimichi against the shortest team in body size they'd probably see today. It was really amusing. It got even more amusing when Choza, himself rather big for his age, jumped up in excitement.

"Wow, Cousin. That's great." There was relief all over his face, that he would team up with somebody he already knew quite well.

Hazuki Uchiha was a slender but tall girl with black braided hair. As she moved to stand between the two Akimichi she looked mostly calm and collected.

Only when Doto greeted her with casual comradery did he understand, that those two were originally from the same team. Poor Team Hanae, he thought, they were clearly at a physical disadvantage, and on top of that, not only had Doto about three years of experience as a Genin compared to Hanae, who had only just graduated the Academy, but Doto also already knew all of his team members, while Hanae had to work with two complete strangers. The odds were already on Team Doto's side.

Hanae and Toriko seemed to come to the same conclusion, as they glanced at their opponents and then at each other. Yuuki however still looked as confident as before, as she put a hand on each of her teammate's shoulders and led them to the entrance to the battlegrounds. "Come on, team! Why the long faces?"

It was only when Sakumo followed the others back into the monitoring room, that he saw Dan's worried visage.

"I just hope, Toriko-kun doesn't get too deeply affected by this," he mumbled.

"Do you think they have a chance?" asked Shinso behind him, who had entered the room with his complete team. After Shibi and Shota had fought in the first round, it was now clear that Mikoto would fight in the last of the three rounds. Shikaku would, too.

"Of course, if he's not too afraid to put his mind to use. It's a difficult match-up, though. In that team, the closest they have to a close combat fighter is Toriko-kun …" He seemed deeply worried as he said that.

Again, the first thing they could see on the monitor's as they flickered to show the different parts of the battlefield were the two teams talking strategy.

"Did your Mom ever train any Tag Team Akimichi Techniques with you," asked Doto right away. His team was hidden behind a big rock, crouching so that the camera had trouble seeing more than Doto's broad back.

"Not really," Choza answered hesitating. "She showed me one technique, but mostly I trained for the combination with Ino and Shika rather than another Akimichi."

"Yeah, right. You're part of the next Ino-Shika-Cho … Well," Doto shrugged, "my Dad showed me some moves. We could try them, they'd probably work better than just random attacks. And they are not that hard." He paused for a moment. "Yes, I think that should work." Then he nodded towards the Uchiha kunoichi. "Hazuki is a sensor…. So, we shouldn't have trouble finding them."

"I can also support you with my Ninjutsu. I use fire, mid-range." She didn't even mention the Sharingan, so Sakumo assumed she hadn't awakened them yet.

"So, we find them and hit them hard." Doto's strategy was as easy as it was probably effective, Sakumo guessed.

"Wasn't that exactly what Shibi's team tried in the last battle?" asked Choza and Sakumo was a bit proud that he had paid attention to the strategies of the other teams.

"Yeah," agreed Doto. "But we are stronger on the attack with the two of us if we can time it right. And I don't think our opponents are as good in close combat as the last one."

"I don't know about this Hoki girl," supplied Hazuki, "but if I remember the last exams correctly Toriko used weapons, so he might pull a sword at you, but I think you can easily overwhelm him. With you two, close combat is our forte and we should capitalize on that." She frowned and exchanged a glance with Doto. "The problem is Yuuki."

"Why, what can she do?"

"I don't really know," grunted Doto, "the entire team didn't participate at the exams last year, but the year before when they were still rookies, they were quite good. Only heard good things about them, and yesterday they brushed through Written Exam and Preliminaries like it was nothing."

Choza nodded in understanding.

Sakumo was quite impressed, he had to admit. Maybe Doto and Hazuki were frustrated that this was already their fourth or fifth attempt at passing the exams and had gone through much more preparation than the other teams had, but they had clearly made notes on all their competition. Whatever the outcome of this battle, that aspect alone would reflect nicely on their final assessment.

Choza had clearly been lucky with his first team. Sakumo knew that Choza was used to being led by people who knew his strength and weaknesses inside out. Both Inoichi and even more so Shikaku could use Choza's skills in the most effective way possible. In a different team, Sakumo had feared he'd be paired up with somebody who would not know how to use his talents and Choza lacked the personal self-confident initiative to make important decisions in a battle on his own. His tendency to rely too much on a good commander would be his weakness. With Doto Akimichi however, he had probably drawn the only other leader apart from Inoichi who could make proper use of him in the team.

While Doto explained some ways to use their Jutsu in synch with each other, Hanae Hoki and their team were still very much at their wit's end.

"How are we supposed to win this?" cried Toriko desperately. "They are all about twice our size, if they get us into close combat we're done."

They were crouching up high on a tree. The cameras had trouble picking them up, but their voices were loud enough to understand.

"Then we don't go there," stated Yuuki simply. She still sounded very calm about this whole situation

"How are we supposed to avoid it?" grunted Toriko. "We're supposed to get the scroll from them. We have to get close."

Yuuki looked at the youngest member of their team who also happened to be their leader.

"I can't help you with that. I'm a Medic-Nin. I can heal you, give you some support, maybe replenish your chakra reserves. But I'm … I'm useless in a fight."

"We could always just leave, bring our own scroll safely away from the battlefield and that would be a tie automatically," suggested Yuuki with a questioning glare at her teammates. "But I want to win. We have a mission, after all. Pull yourself together, both of you!"

"I'm open for ideas," said Hanae.

"I suggest a Genjutsu." Yuuki pointed at herself. "I can do that. That way we could make the Akimichi attack our clones and we could go after Uchiha." She thought after a moment and frowned. "Of course, I don't know, what they can do. If they have a decent tracker or sensor in their team or if Uchiha has activated the Sharingan, they won't fall for it."

"Different plan then," grunted Toriko.

"You said you use water style?" asked Hanae after another moment of silence.

Toriko nodded. "And Fire," was Yuuki's response.

"So, we have three suiton users … Wasn't there a lake somewhere? We could at least get the battleground to our advantage, right?" There was a short pause.

"If we're all on the same body of water, I could even use ranged healing jutsus." She smiled sheepishly. "I'm not good with those, but it's better than nothing. I won't be of any help in the battle itself, but maybe I could heal you or push your chakra reserves … at least until I'm out myself."

"Smart thinking," congratulated Yuuki. "The…the lake was a bit to the west, right?"

They left their hiding place in the trees and ran westward at once.

For a moment they disappeared from the monitors before the other cameras picked them up running through the forest. It was difficult following their conversation now, as they were constantly picked up by different cameras with their voices coming from different speakers and angles in the room.

"...hide somewhere further away with the scroll," suggested Toriko. "That way…" his voice disappeared as he left the range of this camera.

"Can you cloak yourself?" asked Yuuki her voice drifting from a different set of speakers.. "I can put a Genjuts-... you would have to mask your chakra yourself," the last part was again picked up by a different camera.

The rapid change of cameras, angles, monitors and speakers with the voices seemingly coming from all directions gave Sakumo a slight headache.

"I'm a medic," Hanae declared proudly, "my chakra control is good...if it holds against a Sharingan, but if they don't know where to look for me, I can hide my chakra presence. Having a Genjutsu...help, though," she added.

"Then I suggest we take the Uchiha out first. She'd be the biggest thread to finding you", Yuuki said. Finally they reached the lake and the constant monitor and speaker hopping was over.

"Yuuki…," Sakumo murmured the name, "Namiashi? Of a civilian family?"

"As far as I know. She's in Usagi's team," answered Dan. Smart girl, great chakra control. I think her parents are civilians, but both her brothers entered the Academy now too."

"She's good," Sakumo praised, "she even managed to pull her teammates with her. Just a few minutes ago, they were about to give up."

They watched as Team Hanae positioned themselves on the small lake. It was much smaller than it seemed on the map. Really just a small pond but probably big enough for their purpose, even if it meant that Hanae couldn't hide quite as far away as they had maybe wished.

Simultaneously, on a different monitor, they could see that Hazuki had registered the opponent's chakra signatures and Team Doto was moving fast but not carelessly towards that same body of water. They too were now picked up by different cameras in rapid succession. At least they didn't talk, and Sakumo didn't have to suffer their voices assaulting him from all directions.

When Team Doto came closer it must have been clear even to them, that this was some sort of trap, that there must have been a reason why their opponents waited for them so clearly out in the open. Still, they attacked as they had planned.

Both Akimichi used their Baika no Jutsu at once and spun quickly around their own center thundering towards their opponent from two sides. The fact that this had clearly been a trap hadn't stopped them from attacking, but it had made them more careful, so when both Toriko and Yuuki simultaneously substituted themselves for a blob of water both Akimichi were prepared and halted in their attack immediately.

"Get out of there!" screamed Hazuki who stood at the shores of the pond. It was then that both Akimichi tried jumping away from where they stood on the water to get back to safety when both Yuuki and Toriko attacked from under the surface to drag their opponents down with thick tendrils of water. While Toriko failed to grab Doto, however, Yuuki succeeded and dragged Choza underwater before he could jump away.

Choza immediately doubled his physical size again, in an attempt to keep his head over the surface. He succeeded, but now he was wide open for just about any attack. As Toriko quickly got back to the lake's surface, he used a scroll to summon a sword and rushed Choza. He was too slow for Hazuki though, who fired a Phoenix Sage Fire Jutsu at the attacking Toriko. Toriko had trouble evading, but then he used a water technique to douse the flames only to find a hand full of shuriken hidden within them. They hit the surprised boy in the shoulder and arm.

Because both Doto and Hazuki now made to attack Toriko, Yuuki finally had to let go of Choza, who was the weakest member of that team, to protect her teammate.

As Choza dragged himself back to the shore and shrunk back to his original size, Sakumo and the other Sensei could only barely see how a column of water crept up Toriko's body and healed him. Over the monitors, it was very difficult to see, but clearly, all three members of Team Doto saw it and now knew that the medic couldn't be too far away.

"Retreat!" The order came from Doto and both of his team members followed suit immediately. They only retreated for a second, though, maybe to change the strategy and flow of the battle.

It worked.

Toriko was obviously confused by the sudden retreat.

"I thought they would," he started, but Yuuki interrupted him.

"Don't get distracted. They'll be …" Before she could even finish the sentence, a giant fireball courtesy of Hazuki Uchiha raged towards them. Immediately Yuuki jumped forward and raised a big wall of water to block the attack.

As the two Jutsu's clashed a giant cloud of steam exploded over the small lake. "Ah, I can't … Toriko!"

The steam took away the vision from all combatants. For Sakumo and the other Sensei teams watching it was difficult to see what was happening now.

"There!" Toriko screamed who Sakumo could still see standing in the middle of the lake.

Sakumo could only barely make out a giant silhouette moving towards where Toriko stood. It could have only been Doto. Even in the steam, such a big body could not be overlooked, so Toriko swiftly dodged to the side and raised his sword to attack Doto the moment he'd roll past him, only to be suddenly caught by a different attack.

Choza's own smaller body had hidden in the shadow of Doto's. A second attacker hiding behind the first and Toriko essentially jumped right in his path. A direct hit by an Akimichi's Human Bullet Tank Attack was nothing to simply shrug off, even less so when it caught the victim unawares. Toriko was immediately thrown out of his formation behind Yuuki and his painful screams could be heard over the speakers filling the monitoring room.

"Shit, he might have broken his arm," commented Dan at Sakumo's side.

Choza's attack had hit, exactly the same moment when Toriko had raised his arm to attack Doto.

Yuuki who hadn't even had time to react to the Akimichis' double attack, as she had just blocked the fire jutsu, whirled around to help her teammate, only to see Doto's big fist rushing at her face. She reacted immediately.

She was good, Sakumo had to give her credit once again. The timing of Yuuki's substitution Jutsu was perfect and instead of hitting the girl, Doto just punched through a blob of water.

"Shit!" bellowed Doto. "She's underwater again!"

Both Doto and Choza retreated again, wary of the girl who could try and drag them down again.

"Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu," screamed Hazuki.

Suddenly, the still steaming scenery was again interrupted by a big fireball. This one was, however, not aimed at the scene of the fight, nor was it a general attack against the lake itself, as her last fireball had been. Instead, it was a smaller, more precise but not less dangerous fireball directed at a place on the other side of the lake, between two dog-sized rocks; the place where Hanae had been hiding. They had found her!

Over the noise of the battle, Sakumo could hear Hanae scream in shock.

The fire attack was blocked by a big wall of water. Yuuki was there. Her timing, once again, was close to perfection but this time both Doto and Choza followed the fire attack immediately with their families Taijutsu techniques. Their battlecries swallowing out all the other noises from the battle.

They had broken the Genjutsu that protected the Medic and now, the glaring weak point in Team Hanae was obvious, the Team Leader herself.

Hanae Hoki was a talented Medic. The fact that at this early age she could not just use medical Ninjutsu, which in itself was very complicated, but also use ranged healing techniques was proof enough for that. But she had no place in a battle, and now that her cover was blown, that was exactly where she found herself at. Pummeled by two Akimichi at once, there was little she could do but turn and run.

"Run!" Yuuki screamed if to her leader, herself or the still injured Toriko, Sakumo didn't know.

Yuuki was right at Hanae's heels trying to protect her and the scroll Hanae carried hidden away. Toriko also followed though injured and with much more difficulty. But they wouldn't get far. Once a sensor had locked onto their chakra signature, they would not lose them again. So even with the Substitution technique they couldn't buy more than a short reprieve until the Akimichi were on them again.

Toriko tried to fight back, but he was the slowest of the three, due to his injury. Choza quickly caught up to him clenching a giant fist.

"Ah," cried Choza, more rage than pain in his voice, as Toriko's sword landed a shallow cut on his shoulder.

Choza increased the size of his fist even more as he swirled around to get an angle at Toriko. "Take this!" yelled Choza and punched him right in the face.

There was an ugly gurgling sound from Toriko before he fell to the forest floor out cold.

"Ugh," cringed Dan besides Sakumo.

"That will hurt when he wakes up again," commented Sakumo, but his voice was drowned out by the girl on Dan's team,

"Damn, Toriko!" she cried. "Why are you the first to get knocked out!?"

While Dan's team still lamented over Toriko's performance, the battle on screen hadn't slowed down.

Yuuki fought valiantly. She escaped several attacks using the substitution technique and managed to push Hanae out of danger a few times. But as they left their water source behind, she had to summon her own water for her defense. She quickly ran out of chakra and options.

"Ah! Screw you!" she screamed at her opponents, who kept her on the defense without giving her any options to retaliate.

"Just give up," suggested Hazuki.

Yuuki knew that she couldn't just rely on her defense until it tired her out, so as her last-ditch-effort, she went on the offense, trying to take on all three opponents at once.

"Suiton: Suidan no Jutsu," she bellowed, clearly exhausted.

She used a Water Bullet Technique, which made her expel a powerful torrent of water from her mouth. It hit against Doto's charging expanded body, and made him stagger and fall back with a frustrated scream, probably growing a nice bruise on his chest. But as she then turned towards the charging Choza, she was finally hit against the shoulder by one of Hazuki's fire techniques and the sudden attack was just enough to make her use the next Substitution just a bit too late.

"Ah!" made Choza and Yuuki in unison, Yuuki from pain and frustration, Choza probably from surprise that he had hit her at all. It was just a glancing hit, but it had to hurt.

Lastly, it was Doto who had caught himself from the attack he had just taken, who pushed her away with a giant hand and a determined battlecry, throwing her into the woods.

After that, taking out Hanae was just a matter of time.

It was a clear victory. But one, that was much more hard-fought, than any of them could have expected.

Sakumo and the team were there as Choza's cut got healed.

"Did you see?" asked Choza, as they arrived, waving at them before the medic told him to stop moving. "We won!"

"Luck of the draw," muttered Inoichi as he crossed his arms, but as Choza's smile fell a bit he grinned, "congrats, Cho. You got that Toriko-kid good."

Immediately, Choza smiled again, but then he looked at Sakumo. "Sensei?" he asked expectantly. He wanted to know how he had done but just like with Inoichi, Sakumo wanted Choza to first deduce his own lessons from the experience.

"How did you think you were doing?" asked Sakumo.

"We won," Choza answered a bit unsurely.

"Yes, you did," Sakumo smiled, "Congratulations." He didn't say more than that, though, just raised an eyebrow prompting Choza to make his own observations.

"I got caught, though," the boy added after a moment, lowering his head in shame.

"Why did you get caught?" asked Sakumo nodding.

"Yuuki was really strong," justified Choza. He blushed as he realized he was just making excuses, but Sakumo nodded again. He had to give him that much, the girl had been good, but that wasn't the reason Choza had been caught, not the only one, at least.

"What else?" Sakumo asked.

Choza bit his lip, thinking. "I was too slow."

That's one way to put it, Sakumo thought. The moment both Akimichi realized it was a trap and the targets had fled into the water, both had stopped and retreated. But unlike Doto, Choza had hesitated. It wasn't like Doto was significantly faster than Sakumo. More the opposite assumed Sakumo, Doto was much bigger and heavier. Yet still, he had reacted much faster.

Choza, on the other hand, had likely been unsure, he knew what the right course of action would be: halt the attack and retreat, but he hadn't had the confidence to just do what he knew was necessary. Instead, he had waited just a moment, until he saw his team leader move, to follow suit. He had given Yuuki enough time to counter-attack. He was just a split second slower than Doto, but that short moment could decide over life and death.

"Why were you too slow, then?" asked Sakumo, but he realized that Choza didn't know. He even seemed confused by the question.

"I need to train my speed," mumbled Choza, but it sounded a bit like a question and was whispered a bit unsurely.

"Nah," Sakumo said, "think about it. Why were you one step behind Doto?" He looked over to Inoichi and Shikaku who just listened silently to the conversation. "Until then, we should get back to the others. Your arm is fine, Choza?" He glanced at the injury. It was just a shallow cut over Choza's left shoulder and upper arm, but it hadn't stopped bleeding yet. Choza held it at an angle trying to staunch the bleeding with the blood slick fingers of his right hand.

"He should be fine in a second," the medic said healing the cut.

After that was done, Sakumo focused on Shikaku. "Then come. Let's see if Shikaku can win his fight, too."

"Aw, man," grumbled Shikaku as he followed last. He had his hands in his pockets. "Do I really have to? I think I had enough just watching the others." He shrugged as Sakumo looked back over his shoulder to the boy.

"Not, like I really care about this whole thing … Now, that Ino and Cho don't need me anymore, I could just relax. That's so…tedious."

Sakumo almost sputtered. Shikaku's favorite phrase had always been tiresome, just like his father used to say. This new word threw Sakumo for a loop. He wasn't the only one, as suddenly Inoichi barked a burst of loud laughter.


	44. A Lone Genius

**A Lone Genius  
**

Dan's brother, Usagi, was a quiet boy with spiky white hair and turquoise eyes. During all the other fights, Sakumo hadn't heard him say a word about his peer's skills. Even the few times Sakumo remembered meeting him before these exams, he had never heard the boy say much. Now, Usagi stood up, hands buried deep in his pockets and strolled forward to call his team together.

Opposite of him was Azami Inuzuka, a thirteen-year-old girl who was the team leader of Dan's team. She was rather short, even for her age.

"Don't think I'll go easy on you," Azami blurted challengingly at her Sensei's younger brother. The two obviously knew each other.

There was only a silent smile on Usagi's face before he finally opened his mouth to say his first few words for the entire day. "Satoshi Kurama," he read, "and Mikoto Uchiha." His voice was smooth almost bored.

Mikoto was a young girl of eleven with bluish black hair and a lithe statue. Satoshi Kurama was a boy of twelve with long and curly red hair. Sakumo's instincts tingled as the boy stepped up to join his team. He had a flowery almost somnific scent to himself, that almost made Sakumo cover his face in irritation.

With Team Usagi decided, the members of Team Azami didn't need to hear their names to know it was their turn. Nawaki Senju and Shikaku Nara were the only two Genins left.

"Good luck," said Choza cheerily as he pushed Shikaku forward to meet with the other two members of his team. Sakumo didn't know anything about Azami. She was an Inuzuka and she had a Ninja dog that she called Kuro. She was short, but with broad shoulders, thick arms and legs. She even moved with the sure and heavy step of a person strong enough to brave the storm. Nawaki was Tsunade's brother. Sakumo remembered him as a tiny ball of spiky brown hair and the broadest, toothiest smile in all of Konoha pestering Sakumo and Jiraiya about learning new Jutsu. Now he had grown into a young Genin with the same wide smile, already working to be a Chunin.

As the teams prepared for their fight, Sakumo and the others went back to the monitoring room.

On one of the displays, Sakumo could see Team Azami crouched together to strategize. They talked fast and quietly in a way that Sakumo couldn't understand everything they were saying. On the other screen, Team Usagi was already moving fast through the forest with their leader leading the two young shinobi in silent confidence.

Usagi move through a number of silent hand signs. Communication. He was so quick, that it was difficult to follow over the sometimes blurry or incomplete images on the display. The cameras and observations techniques didn't quite get everything. Sakumo only understood the gist of it. Usagi was communicating what Sakumo could roughly translate into an easy battle plan - the cameras weren't able to pick up all the individual signs, but all Konoha Shinobi learned the same strategic sign language in the Academy, so Sakumo was able to at least somewhat follow Usagi's message. Mikoto and Satoshi answered with slower signs, sometimes answering. Most Chunin and Jonin knew to silently communicate via hand- or finger signs. It was even taught in the Academy, but Sakumo had yet to meet a Genin as proficient with those signs as Usagi. He quickly explained whole strategies and set pieces. They were running fast, sprinting and breathing heavy in an attempt to get into position before their enemies could move away from their starting point.

This would get difficult, Sakumo realized, as he looked back to Team Azami. They were still talking and strategizing, totally oblivious of the enemies closing in. While Team Usagi moved in a wide circle around their opponent to catch them from behind, Team Azami finally seemed to come to a conclusion.

They started moving deeper into the battle area, unaware of the fact that their opponents were already behind them, catching their breath after the long sprint. He could hardly see the three Genin cowering between trees and bushes, the cameras just barely picking up Satoshi's long red curls.

Finally, they started moving again, at a slower pace, presumably with the wind coming from a direction that their noise and scents would be carried away from their opponents. Mikoto Uchiha, Sakumo realized, had her Sharingan activated searching for evidence of their opponents' presence until finally they met team Azami's trail and followed behind them.

Meanwhile, Shikaku's team had spread out a bit, moving deeper into the forest searching for the other team that was long behind them where they didn't expect them and didn't look for them.

"What are they doing?!" asked Choza annoyed. "There opponents are behind them, but they… Why did Usagi waste so much energy just to get behind them?"

"He wants to catch them unawares," explained Inoichi, but then he frowned. "But I don't know why he didn't just hide in the trees until their opponents passed by them. Of course, now he's in a good position, but his team is already a bit exhausted from running alone."

"Hm," Shinso grunted. He could of course still not see what happened on screen, but apparently, he deduced what was happening from the children's conversation. "Your brother is smart," he complimented Dan with a slight frown on his face.

"Thanks," muttered the white-haired sensei, but he seemed rather frustrated.

"What is it?" asked Shota.

"Azami with her Inuzuka nose is by far the best tracker in this match," explained Sakumo with a frown of his own. "If she's your team leader, I assume she's strong, Dan?" He glanced at the other sensei, waiting for the nod.

"With the best tracker on the field against him, Usagi took a risk. Had he wasted time pausing and strategizing and then slowly advancing on the opponent, the way all the other teams did before, he'd just do Azami a favor. She would likely be the first to find her opponents and thus Usagi's team would be at risk to fall prey to her ambush or whatever strategy she come up with. Azami knows this too."

He nodded in the direction of the girl who moved with confident certainty through the battlefield, relying a bit too much on her nose.

"So, what?" Inoichi asked stunned. "Usagi just took a leap of faith, hoping they were still where he knew they would enter the battlefield so that he could move around them?" He scowled in disbelieve. "That's crazy. What if they had moved?"

"It wouldn't have worked," Sakumo answered impressed. This kid might be as smart as Shikaku, but more experienced and confident. "Usagi already predicted their movement in a way that the wind won't carry their scent to Azami. Azami even moved in a way to always have the wind blow in her face so that she has an extra wide perception in front of her."

"Which means she's almost blind to anything happening behind her," deduced Inoichi. He whistled quietly. "Damn, I didn't know he was that smart."

"Yeah," muttered Dan, "he used Azami's strength against her. She'll be confident that she can sniff them out before they can find her, yet instead, her opponents are already creeping up beside her."

"We told her not to underestimate Usagi," muttered Enji Shiranui with his hands in his pockets. "She always thinks she can defeat him, but he's…well, he's sensei's younger brother. Of course, he's strong."

Usagi, Sakumo realized, was the closest of all the Genin to get the promotion to Chunin. He already had the knack and decisiveness of a Jonin even. He must have watched the prior battles intently to realized, that every team before him had stopped to strategize close to the area they entered the battlefield in, and then come to the conclusion, that he could rush his opponents in this short window. Now that he had his team and their opponents where he wanted them, he let them slow down and rest instead of engaging into battle right away.

He was terrifyingly smart and the only other kid on the battlefield as smart as him was Shikaku, ever quiet, ever lazy, trailing behind his team leader not seeing any reason to put his brain to use. Sakumo had always been a bit frustrated with Shikaku's laziness and lack of ambition getting in the way of his performance. He had told him more than once to stop sitting on his hands and put his skills to use. However, Shikaku was perfectly comfortable sitting back and letting other people lead his team, not coming up with a strategy until there was an imminent need for one. So far, this worked well enough, but against an opponent of Usagi Kato's wit Shikaku would soon learn his limits.

Slowly but surely Team Usagi closed in on Team Azami until Usagi made his team stop. There was a quick series of hand signs, a wind jutsu Sakumo didn't know. Then suddenly Azami perked up as if she had smelled something.

A ruse, Sakumo knew at once. Usagi had redirected the wind in a way, that Azami would catch his scent from the wrong direction; leading her team even further astray. Usagi's range with his Wind Ninjutsu had to be quite large to pull something like this off while still being so far away.

Meanwhile, Satoshi Kurama distanced himself a bit from his team. Sakumo knew that his clan was known for their powerful Genjutsu. Indeed, shortly after Team Azami entered his range they slowed down.

The Genjutsu didn't last long. Apparently, Satoshi failed to catch Azami's Ninken in the Jutsu and the dog managed to push his chakra into Azami who then managed to free the other two members of her team.

"Found you!" she bellowed. "Senju, Nara, look for Usagi as we-" she started giving her orders but before she could even complete her Beast Human Clone Technique with the dog Kuro, Usagi had the next Jutsu prepared.

"Hurricane Prison!" he bellowed as a strong hurricane took in the entire area with the three opponents in them.

"Damn, Azami," cursed Dan under his breath. "You know not to get caught in that."

Indeed, the Inuzuka girl on screen bellowed an angry curse as the razor sharp air currents imprisoned her entire team on the spot, the hurricane getting increasingly smaller until there would be no place left for her team to flee too.

"Nawaki!" Azami screamed but the hurricane blocked the view of what was happening in its center. All Sakumo could see over the display was a sudden movement by Mikoto Uchiha before suddenly, Nawaki plopped out of the earth dragging both his teammates with him. The Doton specialist jumped from the earth right in front of Mikoto and was immediately caught in her Sharingan, coming to a sudden halt.

"We need to retreat!" Shikaku announced. The Nara was still a bit off-balance from his sudden trip through the ground.

"Take care of Nawaki!" ordered Azami, who finally managed to get into formation with her Ninken using her Beast Human Clone Technique that allowed her dog to transform into a more beastly version of herself.

Shikaku dragged Nawaki's limb form away from a strike by Mikoto before he managed to wake him up with a burst of chakra.

Nawaki Senju was clearly angry at being caught into a Genjutsu the second time in a row, because he suddenly burst into a flare of angry chakra, letting loose his enormous Senju chakra reserves as he made to jump at Mikoto.

"Wait!" ordered Shikaku, "we need to retreat!"

"Take Mikoto!" ordered Azami while she engaged Usagi herself.

"This won't get us anywhere! If anything, we should take Usagi together," insisted Shikaku, as his shadows extended in Usagi's direction.

Nawaki, in the meantime, made to attack Mikoto the way Azami had ordered. He immediately had her on the defensive. "Shikaku! Catch-" he stopped suddenly as he only now realized that Shikaku hadn't joined his offensive against Mikoto, but was rather attacking Usagi.

And then everything ended very quickly. Usagi fled from Azami's taijutsu attack using a version of the normally very simple and basic substitution technique the way Sakumo had never seen it before. Rather than switching position with an object and hiding in the forest the way the Jutsu was normally used, he suddenly switched position with Mikoto.

Usagi appeared right in front of Nawaki, countering with a devastating wind attack that cut easily through Nawaki's attack.

Instead of Azami engaging the ranged fighter Usagi, she suddenly found herself eye in eye with a Sharingan that swiftly caught both her and her ninken in a Genjutsu. In the same moment, Satoshi Kurama reappeared behind Shikaku using another Genjutsu to swiftly put him to sleep.

It was over in seconds.

"Shika…" Sakumo heard Choza's disbelieve in his voice. "What happened?"

"It's his specialty," explained Enji Shiranui shaking his head so that his brown hair fell all over his face. "Usagi always gets us with that. It's just a simple Substitution Jutsu, but Usagi's timing with it is so perfect that he can switch position with his team members as long as they are close enough. It always gets me."

"Yeah," said Inoichi distractedly, "but…what was Shikaku doing?" He sounded angry. Sakumo didn't answer immediately, so Inoichi asked again. "I mean, why didn't he do what Azami told him to?"

"It seems your student needs a lesson in what it means to follow," suggested Shinso smugly. "That almost sounded as if he was…doubting his leader."

Sakumo nodded slowly. "Yes," he admitted, "I feared this might happen...but... Maybe this will be a good lesson," he muttered as they watched the medic-nins come to the battlefield and treat some superficial cutting wounds from Usagi's wind style.

"Your brother is formidable," he complimented Dan.

The elder Kato brother laughed lightly. "Yes, he is. It was a surprise to all of us when their entire team didn't participate last year. I'd be surprised if they don't make it this year."

Sakumo glanced at Yuuki Namiashi and Hachiko Hyuuga who stood a bit to the side in the monitoring room watching their teammate with calm expressions. They didn't seem in the least bit surprised that their team leader had won his battle. Both had lost their own battles, and they still looked a bit disheveled from their own fights, but Sakumo remembered how impressed he had been with Yuuki before. They were also the best team during the written exams and the first to finish their battle mission yesterday. All of that obviously hadn't just been a fluke.

They were good. Better than any Genin team had a right to be.

"Idiot!" blurted Inoichi as he trampled out of the monitoring room to hit Shikaku over the head. "What did you think you were doing out there?" He hit him again.

Shikaku just stared at him with wide eyes, then he shook his head. "I don't know. I screwed up. I don't know what happened."

"You were used to Inoichi being your team leader," explained Sakumo as he came up behind them. "He would have listened as soon as you told him to retreat or to focus your attacks on Usagi only. But Azami is not Inoichi. She doesn't know you."

Shikaku nodded. "I know. I didn't…It was like she didn't even hear me."

"Of course, she didn't, idiot!" bellowed Inoichi, hitting Shikaku again. "She was leading her team. You can't just up and do your own shit, just because you think you know better. Not in the middle of battle."

"But it was never a problem with you." Shikaku shrugged, "Or Sensei or even when I trained with dad."

"'Cause you're horribly spoiled," Inoichi muttered angrily, turning away from Shikaku. "I spoil you too much. Always doing what you say." He crossed his arms in front of his chest looking pointedly away, but he didn't look all that angry. Part of Sakumo suspected that Inoichi was silently glad that Shikaku didn't work as well with somebody else as he did with Inoichi.

"Idiot thinks he can just do what he wants and ignore his orders, Idiot!" Inoichi muttered under his breath and it was difficult to say if he was even still talking to Shikaku.

"Well, Inoichi," Sakumo said with a twinkle of amusement in his eyes, "Shikaku isn't the only one who's spoiled by his teammates, don't you think?"

Inoichi looked up to him then he glanced to Choza. "Yeah, right," he blurted pointing at the plump boy who was rummaging around in his bag. "You had the great luck to land in a team with somebody who knew your skills inside out. But you really…"

"Hm?" interrupted Choza with a slight blush as he procured a bag of mixed nuts and ripped the package open. "You want some?" The plump boy grinned at his teammate, which seemingly put Inoichi completely off track that he forgot what he wanted to rant about.

"Yeah," he mumbled halfheartedly and hand-picked a few hazelnuts from the bag. It was only when he reached out to get some more nuts that he apparently remembered what he had wanted to say. "Anyway," he scowled at Choza as if angry that he had been interrupted, "you have to…"

He was again interrupted. This time by Shikaku's and Choza simultaneously bursting into laughter at their team leader's pout.

Sakumo scratched his head in silent amusement as he couldn't help the grin spreading on his face. "However," he finally said ruffled Inoichi's blond hair affectionately, "I wasn't actually talking about Choza."

It was only now, that his students calmed their laughter and Inoichi's pout vanished to attentive curiosity. "You too had trouble getting along with Shota, have you forgotten?" Inoichi glanced at the ground like an angry puppy. "You had a good fight and I'm incredibly proud of you that in the end you managed to handle the situation, but whether we win or lose there's always a lesson we can take away from a battle."

He looked from Inoichi to Choza and Shikaku who both looked somewhat embarrassed. Choza had turned a dark shade of red and was avoiding Sakumo's gaze as if expecting harsh criticism from his teacher. He only hunched his shoulders a bit more, the longer Sakumo looked at him. Was he doubting himself and his own performance?

Sakumo sighed and then instead of addressing Choza individually, he talked to all three of them.

"Today is the first time you really fight on your own, not just without me, but without being able to lean on each other. You have to get along with strangers. I've been watching all your fights and I think the last time I was this proud of you…" He didn't really know when that had been if he were honest. Maybe when they had saved his life? Or when they fought Sanae's team. But that didn't seem right. Today was the first time they all had to step up to the plate without having to rely on their Sensei or each other. Today they were plunged right into a dangerous mission with a foreign team and even if their fights hadn't been flawless this was a major step in the right direction.

Sakumo's biggest fear when he registered his students for the exams had been that… What if they passed? What if they were sent to war? What if they were put in new teams, without him without even each other? What if they couldn't handle that? Now, he saw they could. They still had ways to go, but more than just seeing them fight his own sister it had been seeing them fight without each other's help that had assured him, that they could not just survive but maybe even flourish on their own.

They were team Ino-Shika-Cho, and they would always be that he knew. Best friends and with a bit more work a perfect team. But they weren't just that. Slowly but surely his tiny little students matured into fully fledged Shinobi in their own right.

Gosh, he was getting way too emotional. He coughed slightly.

"Well," he said self-aware of his sudden bout of emotional weakness. "What this day has proven so far, is that you all have to put more effort into the social aspect of being part of a team. You", he looked at Inoichi first, "have to take more of an active role as a leader. No matter if you want to lead or not, you can't do it half-heartedly hoping somebody would take the responsibility of your shoulders. Your team will notice it and start questioning your decisions." He moved on to Choza. "You have to speak up and act more independently. Even if you're not the leader you can and are acquired to make your own decisions. You are the most loyal and reliable shinobi your age and that is your strength. But you can't expect your team to take your hand and lead you every step of the way." Choza nodded shyly with big round puppy eyes as if he understood what Sakumo was saying but not how to change it.

Sakumo sighed with a small smile. "How about I help you come up with some ideas for your Jutsu? Your own strategies and moves. Something to call your own where you won't need your team to tell you when to use it, because you'll know yourself?" It was a spontaneous idea, but Sakumo was immediately sure it would help. It went a long way to boost ones confident if they had something to rely on.

Choza seemed to think similarly, because he stared up at Sakumo in amazement, then he swallowed and nodded again, more decisively this time.

"Finally, Shikaku…" he looked at the smartest Shinobi of not just their team but easily his entire generation. "Your teammates aren't just pieces on a board that you can freely move around. They don't move, just because you tell them to. If you want them to follow your plans, give them a reason to."

Shikaku looked at him with an expression as if he was about to complain about how annoyingly exhausting this would be when Sakumo's disapproving scowl made him turn away in shame. He muttered something and when nobody understood his words he drew himself up to his full strength. "We'll get another attempt, right?" he said and for the first time, the Nara-heir sounded as if he was looking forward to something.

"Yeah," cried Choza with a broad smile his own embarrassment wiped from his face. "We still have a chance to prove ourselves! We'll all make Chunin together, come on!"

"Yeah," Shikaku said a bit quieter than before, putting his hands in his pockets but he didn't look very confident. Sakumo knew how smart Shikaku was, he probably knew as well as Sakumo did, that after this performance it was just about impossible for Shikaku to get his promotion. He had defied orders in the middle of a battle, had been the primary reason why his team was so thoroughly defeated. Of course, the way it had been, the battle was clearly in favor of Team Usagi, but Shikaku's actions made the victory even easier for them.

Still, it seemed as if his realization that he wouldn't win any promotions today hadn't dampened Shikaku's will to win the next battle.

"What's this, Shika?" asked Inoichi almost challengingly. "You want to lead, now? Is that it?" He quieted for a moment, then he smiled darkly. "Don't think I'll make it easy for you. I finally get a taste of this leading thing."

That's it, Sakumo thought. That's the spirit. Somehow, he couldn't wait for the next round.


	45. A Second Chance to Proof your Worth

**A Second Chance to Proof your Worth**

"Choza Akimichi!" Azami called over the crowd of assembled Genin. Choza looked up but had hardly time to answer before Azami came trampling in his direction, hands on her hips.

Choza ducked his head, intimidated.

The sight was oddly comical with Azami being almost a head shorter than the big Akimichi boy, yet the way they stood almost looked like she towered over him.

"Did your sensei already tell you to…" she glared at Sakumo as if he had personally insulted her. Sakumo waved at her a bit awkwardly then she shook her head in annoyance. Truth be told, he was almost as intimidated by the thirteen-year-old as Choza was.

"Anyway, just react faster."

"Huh?" Choza blinked in confusion.

"I drew your name. We're in the next match; and after Shikaku screwed up like…Anyway, I plan to win this match." She nodded decisively. "And after the last match, I don't plan to lose much time with strategizing. I've seen you fight. We now know each other's skills, right?"

Her tone didn't allow for backtalk. Choza only nodded meekly. The whole scene made Sakumo almost laugh out loud.

"Where's Shota?" She looked around searching for the blond boy who currently stood talking to Shinso and Mikoto. "I need to tell him to cut his crap. If he pulls the same bullshit with me as he did with Yamanaka earlier, I'll gut him!"

"Who's our opponent?" asked Choza after a moment of stunned silence.

"Your…what? Cousin?" she answered with a frown. "Doto Akimichi. Don't know his team members, yet. We'll find out soon, anyway. Be ready!" With those words, she stormed off in the direction of Shota Aoyama.

"Inuzuka and Aoyama, huh?" said Inoichi when she was gone. "Interesting combination. Very close combat."

"Do me the favor and win," muttered Shikaku. "After I lost her the last battle, I don't think she's ever going to forgive me if you lose this one." He was lazily scratching his ear. "I can really think of something other than having her be angry with me for the rest of my life. That would be annoying."

Inoichi only rolled his eyes at that.

Choza then looked up at his sensei. "So, what should I do?"

"Listen to her," he answered with a shrug. "Shikaku is right, she probably won't forgive you if you screw up." As Choza blushed dark red, Sakumo laughed. "Don't worry. But she was correct. You need to react faster. In battle, you don't have the luxury to double-guess yourself. Don't hesitate. If you think you could or should do something, attack, retreat, dodge, block…do or don't do it, but do not hesitate!"

Choza nodded after a moment of contemplation. "I will."

"Choza!" screamed Azami Inuzuka over the racket of the battlefield. "Keep away from Doto! Shota, he's all yours. Block him!"

"Aye!" clamored Shota excitedly as he jumped in the way of Doto's attack. The battle was very straight forward so far.

Apparently, both Azami and Doto had learned from Usagi's move earlier and hadn't spent longer than necessary strategizing. They also didn't stop to do it but were constantly on the move. Doto's team consisted of Toriko Hagane, one of Azami's own teammates, so they knew each other's skills insight out, and Hideyoshi Matsubashi, who was originally a member of Doto's team. The big Akimichi apparently had the great luck of always having one of his own original teammates in his random teams for this exam. Luck of the draw, Sakumo guessed.

As both Hideyoshi and Azami specialized in tracking it hadn't taken long for the opposing teams to find each other despite both of them constantly being on the move.

Doto had been the first to attack, but he had clearly miscalculated. His opponents were mostly close combat specialists and he was clearly the strongest close combat user on the battlefield if it was just about attack potency. Maybe he had hoped to land an early hit against Choza or Azami, taking one of them out early. Instead, Shota Aoyama jumped in his way.

The kid planted himself like a rock, hardening up and Doto could have just as well attacked a solid rock formation. Once again, Sakumo found himself silently admiring the young boy's defensive skills. Shota might not know anything else yet, but for a kid of his age to be able to block an older and bigger Akimichi's strongest attack was nothing short of impressive.

Doto's human bullet attack came to a sudden stop, as he jumped a few steps back and attacked again.

"He's in his element," declared Mikoto in calm triumph. "Now that Azami has given him a target, he won't let Doto get past him, even if it kills him."

It certainly seemed like it, Sakumo had to admit, as Doto stopped his attack, and tried to turn around to get an angle at Choza or Azami, yet again, Shota jumped in his way. The Akimichi's fighting style wasn't the fastest, and as such, it was even though Shota wasn't very fast either, it was impossible for Doto to get past the younger Genin. He was clearly frustrated, but there was nothing he could do. He had attacked and now, instead of finding his target he found himself running again and again into a solid wall named Shota Aoyama, a boy just about half his size.

While Doto grew increasingly frustrated with being so completely taken out of the battle, Azami and Choza attacked his teammates. Toriko and Hideyoshi weren't the strongest Genin Sakumo had seen today, but they defended valiantly. In the end, though, once they were rushed by two close combat specialists with their team leader and strongest fighter completely blocked by Shota, it was only a matter of time until they would fall.

Azami was fast, her claws sharp and difficult to track on the small monitor, her ninja hound had transformed into a double of its owner and Sakumo thought it might be even faster than her. The ferocious graze of a beast with sharp fangs dripping saliva from a human mouth. What Choza lacked in speed, he made up in strength. It was hard to keep track of the destruction he left in the wake of his gigantified punches, but the splintering sound of cracking wood was clearly audible through the speakers.

From the moment the two close combat specialists reached their opponents, Toriko and Hideyoshi were overwhelmed. Toriko's blade glittered in the light of the evening sun as he tried to catch Azami in her attack, but the metal grazed uselessly against chakra-enhanced claws. Hideyoshi on the other hand was clearly not made for close combat as his lengthy hand signs were interrupted again and again by the attacking duo. One of Azami's dangerous claws scraped his cheek and he stumbled as he barely evaded an uppercut courtesy of Choza. The Akimichi finally landed a punch against Toriko's shoulder who then stumbled and was promptly taken out by either Azami or her transformed ninja hound. Then they attacked Hideyoshi from both sides, and the ranged wind user had little to defend himself with.

"Guys…" muttered Shota finally, sweat glistening on his bruised face. "I don't think I can ho-"

He was cut off, as once again, Doto attacked and stumbled into him. But after so many attacks, Doto seemed as tired as Shota was from taking them. "Why don't you just fall!" He gritted out angrily when he stopped in his attack glaring angrily at his two knocked out teammates. "Shit."

With those words, he turned to flee, but he was already to slow from exhaustion…or maybe in general, to get away from Azami's Fang over Fang Attack. Kuro and Azami attacked from two sides, raking their fangs over his back and side and although he wasn't quite knocked out, yet, Doto had lost anyway.

Triumphantly Azami held Doto's scroll in her hand. They won.

There wasn't much for Sakumo to complain. Choza had fulfilled his job, but Sakumo couldn't help but admit that Choza's part in the plan had been the least important in Team Azami. She had come up with a good plan, their execution had been flawless, but Shota's technique had been the backbone of their entire team.

Choza had won both his battles, Sakumo realized, but his performance was a bit lackluster in both. He glanced at Yamamoto, the Hokage, and the assembled Sensei. They were the proctors of the exams who would decide the results. There was a pensive expression on the Hokage's face and a perpetual frown on Yamamoto's. He didn't know what they were thinking, but he had to admit to his own frustration, if it were up to him, he didn't think Choza had shown quite enough to make it to Chunin. He almost felt a bit bad for the assessment.

Although Sakumo worried what would happen when his team would be sent to the front, he still wanted them to succeed in the Exams. Even if that meant they'd have to take a more active role in the upcoming wars.

"I'm next," Sakumo heard somebody mutter a few steps to his right. Shibi Akimichi hardly ever talked so Sakumo needed a moment to recognize his voice. "I'm next," he said again more decisively and there was a visible shiver going through his body as if he flexed all his muscles at once.

"Don't screw up again," said Shinso quietly. "Last battle, you lost. Win this one, and you can still make it."

"Yes, sir," Shibi said but without the upbeat tilt of the voice Sakumo normally associated with those words. It wasn't a loud exclamation but rather quiet acceptance.

Sakumo noticed the young Aburame as he walked up to Nawaki Senju and then the lithe girl Yuuki Namiashi one after the other, patting them on the shoulder and pulling them to the side. He wanted to win, the Hatake knew at once. Like Azami Inuzuka, he had lost the last battle and was hellbent on winning this one. Defeat had made both of them all the more determined. They knew, they only had once more chance to prove their worth, and instead of fearing that they might have lost their chance at promotion with their first defeat, they seemed intent on making this second chance given to them count.

Sakumo watched the three whisper with silent excitement. All three of them had lost their first battle; Shibi had lost when Inoichi decided to burn down the entire forest. Nawaki had lost when his team fell into chaos after Shikaku's solo action and Usagi's well-timed substitution Jutsu, and Yuuki's inexperienced first team had been outmatched against a double Akimichi combination. They were all eager for victory.

When the battle started, it was a sight to behold. As if Sakumo could watch those three Genin grow between battles. Whereas before Shibi had lost control over his insects when they were first poisoned by Shiranui Enji, then taken over by Inoichi, now he didn't use them for a premature attack, but carefully planted them around their opponents as soon as he found them. Yuuki now kept a careful distance instead of engaging her opponents head-on as she had been forced to do in her last fight. If Nawaki had hardly gotten a chance to actually tap into his vast chakra reserves before, now he was using big attacks of a magnitude that even Sakumo would have trouble with.

It wasn't perfect. They were still Genin. There was a lot of wasted Chakra on Nawaki's side, a few missed opportunities by Yuuki and some wasted time by Shibi, but the first battle of the day had clearly given them valuable experience.

Although Yuuki Namiashi had always been magnificent, she now had a strong team on her side, and sometimes that made all the difference to show her full potential.

Their opponents where Hanae Hoki, Hazuki Uchiha and Enji Shiranui, and while they weren't by any means a weak team, they were utterly outmatched.

This time, Shibi used bugs that were resistant to most poisons, so Enji's first attempt to get rid of them didn't succeed. Nawaki started the battle with a giant mud wave attack, that completely swallowed up the little pond Hanae was using for her water techniques, and water enhanced healings. The attack was impressive for even a Jonin, never mind a Genin.

Once again, Hanae, who was clearly a very good medic, was out of her depth in this battle. She was the team leader, but she had no experience in battle and had no choice but to relinquish the leadership to Enji Shiranui who did the bulk of the decision making.

Enji was smart and experienced enough, to make the battle worthwhile, but ultimately, he had an almost impossible task.

"This is almost unfair," muttered Inoichi next to Sakumo. "Yuuki and Shibi are both stronger than all three of their opponents individually. And Hanae is no-good in battle."

"It's almost impossible for her to win anything in this battle mission setting," agreed Shikaku unhappily. "Really a shame. She's really smart, and her medical ninjutsu was top notch even in the Academy. But this system doesn't suit her." He glanced over at the Hokage and Yamamoto.

"Sometimes it is like this," Sakumo answered silently thinking of Might Dai, "sometimes the way the exams are held don't suit somebody even if they are exceptional. But a Chunin, even a Medic-nin, has to deal with these situations."

"What should she do, then?" asked Choza in a pitiful tone. "She's not a fighter."

"She really shouldn't even be in the fight," grunted Inoichi crossing his arms. "As a medic, she shouldn't be in the battle."

"Exactly," Sakumo agreed.

"Really?" asked Shikaku after a moment, "you mean she…she shouldn't have joined the battle? You think that way she might have had a chance during the exams?"

"A Medic Nin has nothing to do on the front lines," answered Sakumo. Unless they were Tsunade, he added silently. But Tsunade was a freak of nature, really. Basically, unkillable as far as he could tell.

"But how would she fulfill the mission and get the scrolls if she couldn't fight?"

Sakumo shrugged. "Depending on her team, she could send the other two while hiding herself. Or she could go for a time-out. Did you forget that there are more options than just 'win' or 'lose' in this scenario?" He looked back at the screen, where Yuuki Namiashi dealt Enji Shiranui the finishing blow and made to search for the scroll in his weapons pouch. "Whatever else, she definitely cannot go to the front lines. There she would only be a liability and a hindrance to her teammates. She even understands that, but she tries anyway."

He watched as Yuuki finally found the scroll and thus won the match for her team. "Inoichi, who are your teammates?"

"Huh?" Inoichi seemed surprised at first, but then he nodded in understanding. "Mikoto and Satoshi."

"A good team," Sakumo acknowledged remembering the two Genin from their earlier fight. A Genjutsu specialist and an Uchiha proficient with the Sharingan. However… "Did you make any plans?"

Inoichi looked up at him, then he scowled. "I thought about some," he admitted then he glanced sideways to Shikaku. He wouldn't tell his plans out loud. Of course not.

Now that he knew Inoichi's team, Sakumo also knew who his opponents would be. The only three left.

"So, you will fight Shikaku," Sakumo said quietly.

"Huh?" made Choza in surprise. Apparently, he hadn't even thought of that. "What? Ino, you'll have to fight Shika?" The Akimichi stared between his two friends, still somewhat winded from his own fight earlier.

"Yes," gritted Inoichi through clenched teeth, however, his green eyes flickered from Shikaku to somebody else, standing somewhat to the side.

Usagi Kato.

Indeed, Sakumo thought, Inoichi had drawn a strong team, but from what he had seen, his opponents were even stronger. Inoichi, Mikoto and Satoshi would fight Usagi, Hachiko, and Shikaku. To top it all off, Hachiko Hyuuga and Usagi Kato were old comrades, they knew each other insight out, they knew each other's strengths and weaknesses and they had probably fought together and each other many times. They would be a formidable team just on their own. On top of that, Inoichi had to fight Shikaku, his best friend that he knew was smarter than him.

"Good luck," Sakumo wished both of them. He was somewhat excited about this battle. For the first time, Inoichi would have to prove himself, not just without Shikaku strengthening his back but even against Shikaku. The Nara, too, had a second chance to prove that he could work with someone other than Inoichi, that he had learned from his earlier mistakes.

Both of them also had the unique opportunity to fight with and against shinobi who were obviously superior to them.

"You're up next."

* * *

I won't have time to upload the next chapter for the next two weeks so the next chapter will have to wait until mid June. Sorry.


	46. Shikaku vs Inoichi

**Shikaku vs. Inoichi**

To Sakumo, it was clear that there was no hiding before Hachiko Hyuuga's Byakugan and Inoichi Yamanaka's sensory skills. He had no doubt that Usagi Kato knew how to suppress his own chakra signature to the point where it would be impossible for Inoichi to detect him. However, as long as Shikaku and Hachiko couldn't do the same, it wouldn't help Team Usagi to hide from Inoichi. So, finding their opponent was the easy part for both teams.

This, however, didn't mean that the battle was quick. It was quite obvious that Inoichi had thought a lot about this battle, maybe even a bit too much to the point where he seemed positively terrified of directly engaging Team Usagi in battle.

Inoichi had two strong genjutsu users in his team. Thus, it made sense for him to avoid a direct confrontation, however, Usagi wasn't so stupid as to just march into Inoichi's traps.

The first hour went by like a slow game of Shogi, with Inoichi and Usagi moving their pawns in ways they thought preferable for themselves without the two parties ever actually meeting in combat. Inoichi would set up a trap but either Usagi or Shikaku would immediately recognize it as such and purposefully move in a way most inconvenient for Inoichi. Inoichi would make his team retreat and try for another trap, which would fail again. Meanwhile, Team Usagi would try to finally get close enough to Team Inoichi to start an attack, while having to evade Inoichi's traps only for Inoichi to retreat again and again.

It was a long game of cat and mouse. Two ninja teams in the big forest; hiding, hunting and retreating, hiding, hunting and retreating.

Soon, it was clear for Sakumo, that Inoichi hoped to save himself over the time. He set up his traps, hoping for a miracle, that Usagi or Shikaku or Hachiko…that somebody would be careless and maybe give Inoichi an opportunity to win, but he didn't trust himself to win a straightforward battle. On the other hand, Usagi and his team were clearly going for the victory. So, it was always them moving forward and Inoichi evading.

Eventually, though Inoichi had nowhere to retreat anymore.

"This is boring," complained Shota to Shibi. The two boys stood next to Sakumo. "They've been running through the forest for an eternity."

"Shh!" hissed Shibi. "Shut up." He waved Shota's complaint away as if he hadn't even heard it. His eyes were glued to the monitor. Similarly to Shibi, Sakumo too could hardly avert his eyes from the battle on screen. This was an exciting battle of wits in a way none of the prior battles had been.

Shota grunted bored. Out of the corner of his eyes, Sakumo could see Choza shift uncomfortably. "It's been over an hour," mumbled Choza. "And they haven't even started yet."

Shota humpfed. "They only have two hours, right? Oi, Shibi!?"

But Shibi didn't even turn to his friend to answer. "Just wait, Sho," he ordered. "It's not going to take long anymore."

"What do you mean?" muttered Shota finally turning back to actually watch the monitors. "They are still…"

"They are getting closer," Shibi interrupted. Then he sighed impatiently. "Just wait and watch!"

Shibi was right, Sakumo knew. It wouldn't take long, now.

"Your kid didn't even try to win." Dan had moved next to Sakumo and was now quietly talking. "Yamanaka I mean."

"Looks like it," Sakumo agreed. "He tried to save a tie over the time from jump." It was obvious that Inoichi had already given up all hope for victory before the battle had started.

Dan shrugged a little. "I get it. Usagi is good, I know that best of all. But it's not going to work." He indicated the monitor where Shikaku quickly dismantled one of Inoichi's favorite traps.

Yeah, thought Sakumo. Dan was right. It wouldn't work.

When the teams finally met, they did so at the very edge of the battlefield in thick forest.

Inoichi didn't even bother to hide himself or his team. With Hachiko's Byakugan, every attempt to stage an ambush would be just a waste of chakra, as Hachiko would quickly see through it. Instead, Inoichi positioned his team closely together on two strong trees, where they could protect each other. Sakumo assumed Inoichi hoped that Hachiko couldn't use his gentle fist Taijutsu to its fullest extent on the trees.

Apparently, Usagi thought the same, because instead of trying to engage his opponents up on the trees, he swiftly cut both trees down with a wind scythe as soon as he was close enough. Again, the range of his wind ninjutsu was extraordinary. He was so far away that Satoshi Kurama couldn't even hope to reach him with his Genjutsu. So, instead of having any way to retaliate, Inoichi's team fell helplessly from the trees drawing up defensive positions on the ground.

Suddenly, Usagi and Hachiko started rushing at them, with Shikaku close behind. They all stepped into range almost simultaneously.

"Fire!" blurted Inoichi, and Mikoto blew a medium-sized fire attack in Usagi's direction. While Mikoto's strength obviously was in Genjutsu, her fireball wasn't half bad. Sakumo assumed Inoichi only made her use it because Usagi wouldn't be able to block it with his wind release. And indeed, instead of blocking, Usagi used a Substitution Jutsu to evade.

"Disperse!" Inoichi commanded, and it was only now that Sakumo realized the Yamanaka was so focused on the battle itself, he couldn't also uphold any form of mental connection to communicate telepathically. This was something they had to train, Sakumo realized. The harder the battle, the more important it was, that Inoichi didn't have to scream his commands for even his opponents to hear.

For now, they dispersed just in time to evade Shikaku's Kagemane no Jutsu.

Suddenly, Usagi appeared in front of Kurama. Had he substituted to this place earlier, knowing Kurama would likely flee in this direction to evade Shikaku's shadow possession. Sakumo could only stare impressed. He was even more impressed when Usagi swiftly substituted himself with Hachiko.

All of a sudden, Hachiko, the strongest Taijutsu user on the battlefield found himself face to face in close combat with Kurama, the strongest Genjutsu specialist and Inoichi's best chance at winning. All of the shinobi on the battlefield and most of those watching probably knew this. Inoichi's best hope of winning would have been to somehow give Satoshi Kurama a chance to get all of their opponents with a Genjutsu at once. Satoshi had the necessary skill if only he was provided enough time and the right opportunity. Instead, he found himself face to face with a Hyuuga and no Taijutsu skills of his own.

"Shit!" Inoichi bellowed and made to jump after Satoshi but was suddenly cut off by Shikaku's shadows forcing him to evade again. Hachiko landed his first hit against Satoshi's stomach. Inoichi threw a number of Kunai, some with paper bombs, at Hachiko, who blocked them easily, but at least it gave Mikoto time to fire another fireball. The sudden light extinguished Shikaku's shadow for a moment and made Hachiko evade, so that Inoichi had the chance to rush to Satoshi's aid.

He was about to drag Satoshi away from Hachiko, when Usagi appeared in front of him, using another simple substitution move. He made to attack both Inoichi and Satoshi with a close ranged and probably devastating wind attack when Inoichi was just a bit faster with his hand signs.

"Shintenshin no Jutsu!" bellowed Inoichi and Usagi immediately retreated using another substitution, leaving a log of wood in his wake.

"It's fake!" screamed Shikaku from where he was kneeling a bit away from the actual battle, extending his Shadow towards Inoichi and Satoshi.

"Damn!" muttered Usagi as he reappeared next to Hachiko, who himself was now ready to go after Satoshi again as well.

Usagi's retreat, however, gave Inoichi the opportunity to use the substitution Jutsu himself to flee into the woods. Mikoto followed him shortly after. They ran, dragging the injured Satoshi behind them.

"Damnit!" muttered Usagi. "After them! I'm not going to fall for this again!"

Hachiko immediately used his Byakugan to find the opponents again, they had stopped running. Inoichi, Mikoto and Satoshi probably knew they wouldn't be fast enough to evade Team Usagi for long, especially with Satoshi injured. So, instead, they decided to conserve energy and take at least rudimentary care of Satoshi's injury. With none of them well-versed in medical ninjutsu however, there was little they could do against the devastating hit Satoshi had to taken from the Hyuuga.

"We can't allow them to get close to you again," said Mikoto glancing over her shoulder.

"Henge!" breathed Inoichi suddenly.

"What?"

"Mikoto, transform into Satoshi," he commanded and Sakumo had to smile proudly at the strategy as he watched all three of them change appearance until Inoichi looked like Mikoto, Satoshi looked like Inoichi and Mikoto looked like Satoshi. Inoichi was smart. If Hachiko again went after Satoshi as he did before, Mikoto could catch him in her sharingan genjutsu. Skill-wise, Inoichi was the smallest threat to Usagi's team. His clan Jutsu was devastatingly powerful, but so slow, that he could hardly risk using it if his opponents weren't already incapacitated. Mikoto with her Sharingan and Satoshi's genjutsu were the more immediate threat. There was a good reason to hope that fake-Inoichi-Satoshi would be given enough time to use genjutsu. The idea was good – however it relied heavily on Usagi using the same strategy again.

How likely was it, that Usagi would once again send Hachiko after Satoshi, using the same strategy and giving Mikoto the ability to catch him in her Genjutsu? Inoichi also forgot, that even though skill-wise he himself might not be the greatest threat, as the team leader and strategist, he was a target anyway. There was no guarantee that Usagi's team wouldn't go after him too.

Still, it was a good move, if only because Usagi wouldn't expect it.

They drew up a defensive position again, standing back to back to back before Usagi's team caught up to them once again.

Usagi pulled a scroll out of his weapons pouch and summoned a huge fan from it, then he attacked with a gigantic wind vortex. Mikoto wouldn't even dare using fire against it, now, as it would just get blown back in her face. Instead, Inoichi's team dispersed again hiding covering behind trees that were cut down just over their ducked heads. There were trees falling, leaves and woods flying around obstructing the view, forcing Inoichi's team to protect their eyes and faces with raised hands. In the chaos, Hachiko rushed forward. Suddenly, he popped up behind the tree Inoichi, looking like Mikoto, was hiding behind.

"Try using your fire now," challenged Hachiko grinning. He was obviously avoiding looking into 'Mikoto's' eyes, as he made to aim for her chakra points.

Inoichi quickly evaded backward. "I better not," Inoichi admitted. "Your friend would just blow it back at me."

Hachiko followed after the fake Mikoto, balancing over the cut-down trees.

A few steps in front of Inoichi Usagi, still with his fan in hand, rushed towards what they thought were Inoichi and Satoshi. Shikaku's shadows also extended in that direction. Suddenly, Hachiko turned around rushing back.

It was a smart move, Sakumo had to admit. With Shikaku's shadows closing in from the side, Usagi coming from the front with the fan ready and Hachiko rushing them from the back, they had Satoshi and Inoichi surrounded. Neither of them was good at Taijutsu and the only team member who could do anything against them at that rage was Mikoto with her Sharingan. However, Mikoto they had pushed so far back, that the best she could do to help her opponents would be sending a fireball into Hachiko's back. With the threat of Usagi's powerful wind attacks throwing her attack right back at her, however, she wouldn't dare.

However, they had made a miscalculation.

Whom they assumed was Mikoto, was in fact Inoichi, while Mikoto was posing as Satoshi. Satoshi, trusting that Mikoto and Inoichi would take care of Usagi and Hachiko in front of and behind him, jumped to safety, while Mikoto activated her Sharingan. She looked Usagi straight in the eye to catch him in her Genjutsu. Simultaneously, Inoichi used his Mind Body Transfer Jutsu to catch Hachiko unawares from behind.

However, suddenly, Usagi and Hachiko were gone. Or, not quite gone, but all of a sudden, they suddenly leaped to the side. Even Sakumo needed a moment to realize with the somewhat blurry camera footage that Shikaku had connected his shadow to both of them and forced them to move out of the way of both Mikoto's Sharingan range and Inoichi's attack.

Somehow, Shikaku had realized the ruse in time to save his teammates. And now, for Inoichi, everything was lost. The nature of his clan technique was that he had to wager everything on one single attack. If he missed, his soul most likely wouldn't find its way back into his body in time. As it was now, Satoshi and Mikoto could still fight, but Inoichi was out for a few seconds. Long enough for Shikaku to catch him in his shadow-binding technique.

Once they knew who was who, it was easy for Usagi and Hachiko to take out Mikoto and Satoshi. When Inoichi regained his consciousness, both his teammates were already incapacitated. Satoshi was out cold due to the Hyuuga's gentle fist.

"All right, who has the scroll?" asked Usagi, glancing between Inoichi and Mikoto. The two glanced at each other without answering.

"Answer him," muttered Hachiko, "...it's over, you lost."

"We don't have it," explained Inoichi smugly struggling a bit against his shadow binding.

"Huh?" Hachiko sneered. "You're telling me, you want us to torture it out of you?" He made a face that made Sakumo worry a bit as he saw Inoichi visibly stiffen. "After the trick you just pulled, I might even enjoy it," said the Hyuuga grabbing for Inoichi's chin glaring down at him through a veil of long black hair.

Usagi looked unhappy with the situation. He glanced again between Mikoto and Inoichi. "You don't have it, hm? So, you destroyed it or you hid it away."

"We destroyed it," Mikoto answered at once.

"Yeah, as if," grumbled Hachiko, grabbing Inoichi's chin a bit tighter. "Did you know I can hit pressure and chakra points with my fighting style that will make it impossible for you to walk for the next few days?" He smiled again. "Surely that's not worth it, boy."

"Whatever you do, could you please tie them up?" muttered Shikaku from where he was still kneeling to uphold his Kagemane no Jutsu.

They quickly had all three of their opponents tied up with thin wire. Then they started searching through their pockets and weapons pouches, but came up empty-handed.

"Sensei," asked Choza next to Sakumo, "they aren't really going to hurt them…? They can't, right?" He glanced to Yamamoto and the Hokage then back to Sakumo. "Shouldn't it be over?"

"The mission is to get the scroll," said Sakumo frowning, but he didn't really like the prospect of this either. He wondered if Inoichi had seen this possibility when he had apparently hidden or destroyed his scroll. He glanced at the Hokage, but he didn't say anything. If this was the way Inoichi wanted to go, he deserved Sakumo's respect.

"I like that kid," murmured Shinso, loud enough that Sakumo could hear him.

For a moment Sakumo stared at Shinso's eyes. For a moment he thought about the story he had heard of Shinso blinding himself to avoid his Sharingan falling into enemy hands. "Yeah, you would," Sakumo muttered.

Inoichi was still just eleven. At that age, Sakumo knew he hadn't even considered the chance of captivity, and it was telling that of all the team leaders during these exams Inoichi was the only one who went so far as to destroy or hide the scroll in a way so that the enemy would have to get the information out of him.

"Satoshi needs medical attention," muttered Usagi on screen. Sakumo knew that medics were already at the ready.

"Then get him out of here," suggested Hachiko. Usagi glanced at him questioningly. "Just drop him off outside the battle area, then the medics can take care of him. It's not like we get any information out of him anyway." The Hyuuga nodded at Satoshi's unconscious form.

"All right," said Usagi but he still looked uncertain as he glanced to Shikaku. "Eh, Nara, can you drop him off?"

"I…" Shikaku glanced uncertainly at Inoichi.

"What are you looking at, idiot?" bellowed Inoichi aggressively. "We're opponents! They don't have the balls to do anything, anyway." He glared challengingly at Hachiko who only scowled at that.

Shikaku still seemed indecisive, but it was true enough hat Satoshi needed medical attention and maybe part of him wanted to get out of there, so eventually he knelt to pick Satoshi up before he left.

"Great, Yamanaka," muttered Mikoto, "chasing off our only ally."

"Don't worry, they won't do anything, anyway," retorted Inoichi with another angry glare at the Hyuuga.

"You're really getting on my nerves!" Hachiko kicked Inoichi angrily but he didn't go any further than that.

"See," grinned Inoichi as he righted himself. "They are just words. They don't have the stomach for torture."

"Shut up, idiot," warned Mikoto.

"How much time do we have left?" asked Usagi after a moment.

"Just about an hour, I think. We could use a genjutsu," suggested Hachiko.

"You mean, I could use a genjutsu," said Usagi rolling his eyes. "You're no good with genjutsu."

Hachiko made a half shrug half nod-gesture.

"Fine," said Usagi finally. "You go and trace our steps back. Maybe you can find the scroll with the Byakugan."

Hachiko seemed about to retort something, but then he simply nodded and left.

"Don't step in any of their old traps," Usagi called after him before he turned back to Inoichi and Mikoto. He didn't look happy at all. "You just had to go that route?"

Inoichi grinned smugly. "I had to stop you from getting my scroll somehow," he explained confidently. "So, I destroyed it."

"Yeah, or you hid it, and we will only know when we torture the information out of you."

"Come on, Kato," said Mikoto, "I told you we destroyed it. This is really stupid."

"I agree, but it's not exactly my fault," retorted Usagi with a half angry pout. "It's your team leader's stupid idea to go that path."

"I'm surprised nobody else did," Inoichi thought out loud. "It's really an obvious course of action don't you think." Usagi didn't answer, but he probably had to agree. "I wonder if they thought about this when they came up with this exam. What do you think? Did they want to see if we're willing to torture each other, huh?"

Usagi looked unhappy, if not faintly sick. "Maybe," he finally admitted.

"Hm." For a few moments, Inoichi seemed to just think quietly. "I think they did. I think that's what this was all about, you see? If they just wanted us to fight each other, that would have been easy enough without this scroll business. And the whole time-out thing." He made a silent pause for reflection. "To give us more options to impress apart from the fighting."

"Well," said Usagi after a moment. "Probably." He again glanced between Inoichi and Mikoto uncertainly.

"You shouldn't have sent Hachiko away, you know," explained Inoichi. "He was the only one who had the stomach to maybe do something. And he won't find anything anyway."

Usagi shrugged somewhat helplessly, then he suddenly squared his shoulders. "Fine."

He knelt down to Inoichi and made a few hand signs. "Now, don't you start complaining," he said with an unhappy grin. "You're kinda begging for it. And I can't put her under genjutsu anyway." He was obviously referring to Mikoto's Sharingan being able to see through most genjutsu easily. Then he finished his hand signs.

"Ugh," Choza grunted beside Sakumo. "How much time is left?" He looked faintly sick staring at the screen. "Where is Shikaku?" He searched the other monitor's for signs of his other teammate but Shikaku had either left the battlefield with Satoshi or he took his time to reappear. "I'm going to kill him. I'm going to kill them both!"

Suddenly, Choza turned around to leave and, Sakumo assumed, go after Inoichi to help or do something. Sakumo instinctively grabbed his shoulder and held him at the spot. "Sensei," asked Choza, "how can you just watch this?"

"Inoichi's choice," muttered Sakumo unhappily. "And don't worry." He nodded at the monitor where after only a few minutes, Usagi stopped his genjutsu and made an angry and aggressive gesture while Inoichi only looked mildly winded.

"Told you," said Inoichi, "you don't have the stomach for it."

Usagi screamed in anger. Then he started the last attempt at finding the scrolls in their weapons pouches. They had searched them before with just as little success.

"I told you," Mikoto almost sounded exasperated, "we destroyed it."

Usagi only nodded quietly, checking Mikoto's pants' pockets. Then he made both of them stand up and dragged them to the edge of the battlefield before he caught up to Hachiko to tell him they would give up.


	47. The Qualities of a Chunin

Hi,

I have abit of stress at University these days, so I didn't get around to writing much new stuff.

Anyway, next chapter. Finally, let's end the Chunin Exams. I hope you like it.

* * *

 **The Qualities of a Chunin**

Inoichi was only walking out of the forest when Choza ran up to him and grabbed his shoulders."Inoichi, what was that for?!"

"Ugh!" Inoichi grunted in surprise, trying to shake Choza off. "What's that for?"

"Did you want to get yourself tortured with me being forced to watch, huh?" Choza pointed at him. "You can be glad this was just an exam. Now, at least I know in a real mission I can't leave you alone."

"Shut up," Inoichi grumbled indignantly. "The purpose was to protect the scroll. What else should I have done? There's no way I could win the fight." He pouted.

"And is that a reason to just give up?" He smacked Inoichi over the head with the palm of his head.

Shikaku chose that moment to come from the forest with his team, rubbing his head sheepishly.

"What's with all this ruckus I heard?"

"And you!" Choza suddenly shifted his attention to Shikaku.. "How could you just leave when they could have hurt Inoichi?"

It was then that Sakumo decided to interfere before Choza talked himself into an actual rage. "That's enough."

"But Sensei…"

Before Choza could complain to his sensei, somebody else walked over to them. "Hey, Yamanaka!" Usagi's voice was loud enough to drown Choza's complaints out. "How'd you know we wouldn't hurt you, huh? It wouldn't have been against the rules."

The younger boy shrugged. "I hoped you wouldn't have the stomach for it." When Usagi frowned at the unsatisfying answer, he added: "It takes a special kind of…dedication to be willing to hurt somebody like that who can't defend himself." he shrugged sheepishly, then he avoided eye-contact to anybody else.

The other boys didn't even seem to notice Inoichi's obvious discomfort, yet Sakumo wondered: Did Inoichi think he had the stomach for torture? The Hatake himself knew he probably didn't have it in himself; as Inoichi had pointed out, it took a special kind of dedication to willingly go so far.

By now the other teams and sensei had left the monitoring room and gathered outside. Yamamoto and the Hokage stepped in front of the crowd.

"Now, that was an interesting spectacle," Dan grinned.

Azami Inuzuka appeared out of nowhere hitting Choza across the shoulder in a friendly way but hard enough to make him stumble. "Hey Choza!"

On Inoichi's other side Shikaku ducked his head shyly obviously intimidated by the older girl.

"We did great last battle, don't you think, Cho!" grinned the Inuzuka-girl. Her lips revealed a pair of sharp canines. "Do you think we made it, huh?" She punched him amicably against the upper arm. "I'm so excited."

"Uh, I…eh," Choza stuttered, blushing. He looked to his friends for help but while Shikaku tried to physically distance himself from the Inuzuka, Inoichi ignored them entirely, staring at the Hokage in front.

"Azami…," muttered Enji Shiranui with his hands in his pockets. "Give him a second to breathe."

"You're no fun," growled Azami somewhat unhappily.

"Maybe you should look over there and listen," Sakumo suggested with a smile pointing to the Hokage and Yamamoto, "if you want to find out if you passed."

"Huh? Oh, true, Ossan," she grinned at Sakumo who twitched at the indignant address. He wasn't that old.

Next to him, Dan buried his face in his hands in a gesture of helpless embarrassment. "I'm sorry, Sakumo," he apologized quietly.

Sakumo didn't say anything. Instead, they turned their attention to the front where Yamamoto finally raised her voice.

"This last battle concludes the 22nd Chunin Exams. Looking back at the last six fights and what we witnessed during yesterday's preliminary battles, the Hokage and I could decide on who we think is ready to be a Chunin. Before we announce the names of those who passed the exams, the Sandaime Hokage will tell you something about what it means to be a Chunin."

Yamamoto glared over the rows of young Genin as if daring them to interrupt the Hokage before she stepped aside with a silent scowl. Somebody in the crowd muttered something under their breath but it was impossible to make out, and even Yamamoto let it go after another daring glare.

It was dark by now. They had spent the whole day here and Sakumo could see the exhaustion in their eyes. They had given their all. Now they were tired, some looked hopeless, some hopeful.

Finally, the Hokage coughed slightly, instantly gathering everyone's attention.

"First, I want to thank all of this year's participants. It is a pleasure to watch young talent such as yours bloom and grow. Many of you only recently finished the Academy, this year or the year before and were participating for the first time. To me as the Hokage, it is a promising sight to see how much you have grown in such a short time. Many others have graduated a few years ago and already participated in the exams. I can still remember some of you showing your skills just this summer and again it is impressive how much you have grown since then."

He seemed a bit nostalgic as his eyes roamed over the young faces.

"I can only imagine that your Sensei who are gathered here behind you, are similarly proud of your growth over the last few months and years." Sakumo had to nod automatically and he only then realized that Choza had looked up at him with glossy eyes.

"You young shinobi and kunoichi are the future of our village and watching you today shows me clearly that our future is in good hands, indeed. I as your Hokage could not be prouder."

There were a quiet pause and some muttering. Sakumo thought Shikaku grumbled something about the Hokage being overly melodramatic. He was swiftly nudged by Inoichi's elbow to stay quiet.

"This goes for all of you, not just those who have earned their promotion to Chunin," the Hokage clarified. "Watching you today, truly was a pleasure."

There was again a silent pause before the Hokage sighed quietly.

"Currently, you carry the rank of Genin and were still in training. We gave you an experienced Jonin at your side to help you mature. If you make mistakes, there is a certain understanding, because we know that you still have much to learn. For those who will become Chunin today, that will change. Chunin are fully trained Ninja who make up the bulk of the Leaf's fighting forces. You will not only be acquired to take more difficult and risky missions or fight in our wars, having responsibility not just for yourselves, but for your team, your comrades and the village."

He made a quiet pause looking each and every one of the assembled Genin over. "Most of you don't have much experience, yet. Normally, I would now tell you about all the opportunities you will have as Chunin. It is very common to take a specialty. There are many ways in which a Chunin can serve our village, be that on field missions, as a teacher in the academy, as a desk worker to coordinate our teams or a medic in our hospital. However, we are not in a normal situation. Instead, a great war has started, and while most of you will still have an opportunity to choose your specialties, I also don't want to leave you under any illusions. For you young shinobi and kunoichi becoming a Chunin means that you will be involved in the war one way or the other."

He looked genuinely sad at that. "It was almost twenty years ago, that the last great war ended, and my predecessor started the first Chunin Exams as a sort of substitute for the constant war. A way to pit the villages' youth against each other in amicable challenge rather than bloody war. The Chunin Exams were meant to celebrate the end of the great war and the prospering peace. However, this year we find ourselves in a time where war has again split the nations apart." He glanced sadly and almost shamefully on the ground. "As somebody of the old generation who had the great privilege to experience so many years of peace, I can only express my sincerest regret that I can not offer you the same."

He sounded so genuine, Sakumo couldn't help but put a comforting hand on Choza's and Inoichi' shoulder not knowing if his comfort was at all needed. He felt the Hokage's words deeply. He too would have wished his students to grow up in more peaceful times. The Hokage himself, Sakumo knew, had grown up in his teens and early twenties experiencing the horrors of the First Great War, but Sakumo himself had had that privilege the Hokage was talking about. By the time he had become Genin, the war had been over. Of course, there was some conflict, not least of all the crisis in which Kagami-sensei had died, but most of Sakumo's young years as a shinobi he had lived in peace.

"Now," the Hokage started again a bit upbeat, "Yamamoto-san, will read to you the names of those who passed the exams."

Yamamoto stepped forward again, coughing silently. Next to Sakumo, Shinso Uchiha shifted a bit uncomfortably, looking into the forest towards Konoha.

"Aburame Shibi," Yamamoto started.

Despite their obvious rivalry, it was Shota who cheered loudest for his team member. Mikoto congratulated more quietly. However, it was Shinso's reaction that caught Sakumo's attention. The Uchiha had put a hand on Shibi's shoulder, but his head was still turned towards Konoha a troubled and concentrated expression on his face. From where they stood assembled at the edge of the forest they couldn't even really see the village. From here Konoha was quite literally hidden behind leaves.

Maybe it was that that made Sakumo's own nerves react or maybe it was his own instinct that made his own hair stand on end. Something wasn't right.

"Akimichi Doto," Yamamoto read next.

While the big boy and his team celebrated more quietly than Shota had before, Sakumo's attention was drawn elsewhere. He tried concentrating, tried to figure out what made him feel so uncomfortable.

"It's in alphabetic order," said Shikaku at that moment.

"What?" asked Choza. "But my name is before Doto's in… So I didn't make the cut," he muttered disappointed.

Sakumo hardly reacted. He couldn't place this nervosity. Maybe a subtle scent in the air that he couldn't quite place yet. And Shinso's behavior alone made Sakumo feel on edge.

"Inuzuka Azami," was next and the loud cheer from the Inuzuka so close to Sakumo for a moment made it difficult to concentrate.

Dan happily congratulated his student, while the two boys in the team patted her shoulders with amicable well-wishes.

"Do you feel something?" muttered Sakumo to Dan, distracting the man from his little victory party.

"Huh?" the other Jonin looked up from his students questioningly. "What do you…?" But the serious expression on Sakumo's face made him quiet down. "No, what is it?" He glanced past Sakumo to Shinso who looked troubled still.

"I don't know," Sakumo admitted. He looked to the Hokage. The older man, too, he realized had a thoughtful and concentrated expression on his face, not really paying attention to what was happening right in front of him. Something was definitely not right. "It's my instincts. But I can't place it."

For a moment he considered that it was just Shinso's reaction that put his instincts on edge, but there was more than that. Something was in the air. He could smell it, but he couldn't place it yet.

"Kato Usagi" and "Namiashi Yuuki" were the next two Genin who passed the test, but Sakumo didn't pay attention to that.

"Shinso and the Hokage seem to think something is going on, too," Dan muttered under his breath. Sakumo nodded. He realized that some of the Genin surrounding them listened in on their conversation. They spoke quietly but their students by now had enough experience to realize when something important was going on. "Shinso is a sensor type," Dan informed him.

The Genin, of course, didn't know what was going on, but one after the other, Sakumo could see the Jonin realize that something was going on, not all of them had sensory skills, but experience had sharpened their instincts. To survive as many battles as most experienced Jonin had, even to just reach the position of Jonin one needed a sharp instinct honed by years of experience. Even if they couldn't sense what exactly was going on, they felt it, when something as wrong. As if there was a special sort of tension in the air that they could pick up on.

"Shiranui Enji," Yamamoto read and then "Yamana—" she cut herself off, her own instincts now sharpening. For a moment it as quiet while neither Enji nor Inoichi celebrated their promotion but instead held their breath as if waiting for something to happen.

Some of the Genin shared questioning glances.

Suddenly, Shinso moved, flashing some hand signs to the Hokage. "The barrier," he warned and was on the move already.

As if that was what they had all been waiting for, the Jonin erupted in sudden movement.

Shinso had communicated the information he had been able to make out to the other Jonin and the Hokage. A small invading force from southeast trying to break through the barrier.

Now that Sakumo turned his nose in the direction he could make out the faint smell of salt. Kirigakure? He wasn't sure, but he couldn't shake the feeling that what he was smelling was the scent of the sea.

The forty-fourth training ground was to the west of Konoha so the scent Sakumo could just barely pick up was deluded by the odor of the village itself. It also meant that Sakumo, the Hokage and the other Jonin were far away from the scene.

"Inoichi, Shibi," Sakumo commanded. "First mission: Take your teams. Warn the Guards at the Gates, then inform the hospital."

"Yes, Sir!," they said almost simultaneously.


	48. War doesn't Sleep

Hey,

sorry for the long wait. As I mentioned last time I'm a bit occupied with Real Life. That will probably last for the next few months. I have to write an important paper and don't want to distract myself with other kinds of writing if I can avoid it.

So I will probably only update this story once a month for the next few months. You'll see when the Posting schedule speeds up again.

* * *

 **War doesn't Sleep**

He could hear other Jonin giving there newly appointed Chunin their own orders which mostly consisted of warning several strategically important divisions in Konoha or ensuring the safety of civilians or intel if necessary. There was a silent argument between Yamamoto and the Hokage, Yamamoto obviously arguing that it was paramount to get the Hokage to safety, while Sarutobi seemed unhappy that he couldn't take care of the thread himself.

Such was the role of the Hokage, Sakumo knew. While he would be a great asset on the battlefield, as head of state he was often acquired to stay safe rather than intervene personally on the battlefield. Losing the Hokage, if only by a lucky strike of an enemy, would be so devastating, that it was common practice to risk the lives of weaker ninja rather than employing the Hokage who could possibly deal with most opponents easily but would then be himself at risk.

Sakumo himself took off as soon as he had given Inoichi and Shibi their orders running after Shinso. His speed was a big advantage here. While he had to run around the entire village to the other side to see what was going on there, with his speed it wouldn't take long. He even overtook Shinso half-way there.

From his vantage point, he could now clearly make out the scent of the opponents – Kirigakure indeed – when he felt a silent ripple in the barrier. They had breached. He could even sense a coppery tang in the air. A fight had already broken out – or had already ended – between the invaders and a border patrol.

Sakumo came upon the scene only shortly after. It was still dark, and he had difficulty making out where the opponents were. There were no other Konoha-shinobi around, the terribly coppery taste in the air making it obvious what had happened to the border patrol that had engaged the opponent. But where were they?

He concentrated on locating the scent for a moment. Five or six different people, but they were very good at hiding their presence. Sakumo too, waited hidden for a moment. Maybe, he should wait for the other Jonin to arrive, but in the meantime, he would risk one of the opponents sneaking away and getting into the village.

He backed a few steps away from the scents closer to the Konoha walls, so he had a better view over the wall and could prevent anybody from sneaking in. There he left a lighting clone while still trying to locate the opponents.

The first hid in a tree. The second one was sneaking a bit to the right between the bushes. The third one was somewhere to his left. The others however successfully hid their scent well enough that he could only guess their location.

It was uncomfortable to attack not knowing where all his opponents were, but he also couldn't wait any longer. Those he had located were uncomfortably close to the Hokage monument. If they managed to sneak into the hidden pathways hollowing out the mountain, he would lose them too easily.

He snuck closer to the entrance and from there, crept up behind the opponent he had located closest. He didn't use his sword. The flash of white could give away his position too easily, especially against opponents who obviously specialized in sneaky infiltration.

This wasn't his strong point, he knew. While he had experience with ambushes and while he did readily use sneak-attacks in his battle, he was much more used to fighting on a battlefield. He had, after all, spent the last years training to become a battlefield commander, while these sneaky cloak-and-dagger-operations were the expertise of an ANBU. Akane would be better suited for the situation.

Of course, he could risk just straight up attacking the opponents. He was probably stronger than them, he was reasonably sure of that. But he didn't know their level of skill nor their mission. If they realized they were found out, there was a chance they would start a desperate Kamikaze attack against the village. If one of that had a big destructive Jutsu or explosive devices and managed to set them off before Sakumo could take them out…he'd risk great destruction that could even reach the outskirts of Konoha and injure civilians and ninja alike.

No, he had to be sneaky, and that sadly was something he was probably worse than the team of ANBU he was sneaking up on. Both his white-gleaming sword and his lightning techniques would catch his opponent's attention too fast. He'd be able to take out one or two of them, very likely, but the others would be warned.

He suppressed his scent and presence as well as he could. Yet still, it seemed that his opponent felt something. There was tension in his shoulders. Of course, Kiri-Jonin shared the same instinct any Jonin had. He didn't know yet, that Sakumo was there, but he felt…something, that much was obvious in his careful step.

Before his opponent could decide that his instincts were screaming loud enough at him, that he should warn his comrades, Sakumo attacked. He used a quick Shunshin Jutsu to appear behind his opponent grabbed him around the head, forcing his hand over his mouth, while the man struggled to keep Sakumo from snapping his neck. The Kiri-nin had obviously known something was coming and had braced himself against the impact of an attack. Sakumo, instead of struggling to kill the man, used a doton jutsu to drag him underground. The jaw under his hand was working furiously trying to get a warning yell out, but nothing but a muffled gasp actually managed to get past Sakumo's fingers.

Down underground he put the still struggling man under a genjutsu and used that opportunity to knock him out.

As he emerged with his unconscious opponent he bound and gagged the man just to make sure and then strengthened the Genjutsu. All the while, his nerves were tense trying to concentrate on his surrounding making sure nobody had used the opportunity to sneak up on him.

Yet, the forest was eerily quiet. He could still sense the Kiri-nin close by, moving closer to the village. One of them moving in his direction. Maybe he had sensed something going on with his partner, or maybe he wanted to reach the Hokage monument.

For a moment he wondered if the other Jonin had arrived. He was sure they would hide their presence and scent just as he did to prevent themselves from being found out. He could vaguely smell them, but it wasn't strong enough to say if they were actually on the scene or just close by.

He moved towards the opponent who was closing in on him. He had to catch him before he could find his unconscious partner and raise the alarm.

He hadn't even reached the man yet when suddenly the earth shook under his feet. A memory rushed him. His clone had evaporated.

Close to where his clone was hiding Usagi Kato had tried to sneak up on an opponent trying to take him out. Usagi, a newly appointed Chunin was very good and precise with his Ninjutsu, but he didn't yet have the experience to sneak up on an experienced ANBU. He had been found out and a fight had ensued. The opponents were warned, and his own clown had evaporated in a rather embarrassing attempt to stop exactly what Sakumo had feared would happen. The Kiri-nin had activated a big number of very strong explosive tags. That was when his clone had interfered, grabbed the tags and run off with them far away from Usagi, Konoha and any other human settlement. The explosion had destroyed the clone, but Sakumo couldn't be sure how big it actually was. It had shaken the earth even here, but he didn't know if it would have reached Konoha had it gone off where it was meant to.

Now, with the opponents warned, Sakumo only shortly hesitated in his step, as the memory rushed him, then he sped up, drew his sword and went straight for a vital spot. He didn't have much time, he knew. If Usagi was still fighting the stronger ANBU there was only so long until he couldn't hold him off anymore and Sakumo wasn't sure if there was anybody else close enough to intervene.

After his current opponent fell, he made a sudden turn to rush towards Usagi.

Indeed as he stepped out of the forest close to the Konoha Wall, he witnessed part of the furious battle between the young Chunin and the ANBU, Usagi just barely holding off his opponents gritting his teeth in anger and frustration at his own failure.

Usagi looked desperate, as he retreated backward. Then he seemed to slip, just as Sakumo came into his view. There was a moment when Sakumo silently prayed to all the gods that he would be in time, then Usagi's eyes fell upon him. He seemed uncertain for a moment but then an odd sensation overcame Sakumo.

As if something or someone was reaching out to him. It felt like tendrils of chakra ghosting over his skin, trying to pull it towards the fight. For a split second, Sakumo resisted the pull, but then he realized what it was, and he let go of his sword and gave in.

The next moment he stood where Usagi had lain. He was too close to make proper use of his sword, but he had known that which was why he had let go of it, instead he greeted the surprised ANBU with a flurry of precise Taijutsu until he crashed a lightning chakra enhanced palm against his chest, cracking skin and ribs. He didn't know if his opponents had survived the attack, but he was definitely out for the count.

"Thanks," muttered Usagi as he handed Sakumo his sword. A moment ago, he had appeared right where Sakumo had left the weapon. "If you hadn't followed my Kawarimi…," he left the sentence open.

Sakumo just nodded, sheathing his blade. He glanced down at the young Chunin contemplating whether he should scold him for his half-assed attempt to take out somebody so clearly stronger than him, but the ashamed blush on Usagi's cheeks suggested that he knew very well, that he had failed.

On the other hand, whatever the Hokage had said about there not being any leniency for Chunin to make mistakes, Sakumo also knew that only the courage to fight stronger opponents could ultimately make someone stronger.

"You need to get faster with that jutsu," Sakumo said instead. From his own experience with it, he could now deduce that it wasn't any faster than Sakumo's own running speed. Slower even. It was a very nifty technique to get somebody close to the opponent fast, while also getting someone else to safety, but it was still too slow to hold against the elite. Even that ANBU, Sakumo assumed, had he not been caught off guard by it, being certain of his own victory, he would have probably been fast enough to kill Usagi before he disappeared and then brace against the Sakumo before he even arrived. "It's still just a normal Substitution in terms of speed," Sakumo explained, "there are many shinobi who'll be able to outrun it."

"Really?" Usagi asked surprised. "That never happened," but he didn't sound doubtful, just surprised.

"So," Sakumo got back to the matter at hand, "I take it, back-up has…," he cut himself off as the forest suddenly lit up with a fire Jutsu before it got dark again just as fast. "Well." He muttered. The question had answered itself.

"I knocked somebody out," Sakumo informed Usagi and then gave him the exact position where he had left the Kiri-nin. "Bring him to the Intelligence Division." Usagi nodded and took off, while Sakumo ran back into the forest in the other direction. As far as his nose told him, all the opponents he could make out were now attacked by different Jonin. He could make out the Chakra signatures and scents of at least five different Jonin roaming the forest either engaged in battle or looking for more opponents. At best, there were three opponents left, he assumed, and their chakra signatures were dropping quickly. Now that they were engaged in battle it was easy to sense them.

Sakumo, instead of helping with the fights, because he doubted his help was needed, followed the coppery scent of blood that he had smelled since he first arrived here. He followed the trail all the way to the barrier where he was greeted with a terrible sight.

There between the trees and leaves of the forest were four bodies with Konoha headbands.

He checked the pulse of the first one but didn't find it. He knew his face. Pale skin, with already bluish tinted lips from death. He must have lost a lot of blood, Sakumo thought dejectedly. There was color on his face – blue lines circling his eyes – a tattoo, like the markings that were so common in many clans, only that Sakumo didn't think this particular pattern belonged to any specific clan. His name, Sakumo remembered, was Tanaka and he sometimes worked at the Mission Assignment Desk.

The next one was dead too. This one, Sakumo didn't know by name. It was a bold middle-aged man. A Chunin too, Sakumo assumed, but he wasn't sure. He had died of a broken neck and his head was at an angle, that he didn't even bother checking a pulse.

The third was a young woman with blonde hair and a plump body under light armor. This one, he remembered, because she had once accidentally cut Jiraiya's ass when she had thrown a kunai in practice, not knowing Jiraiya had hidden behind the tree, trying to spy on Tsunade's date with Dan. He remembered that night well. He had ridiculed Jiraiya all week because Kara had quite literally bitten him in the ass.

He checked her pulse too and was surprised to find her alive. Immediately he knelt down beside her, looking for her injuries. She had bled, but it seemed the blood flow had already stopped. She was unconscious and had a fever. Her injuries weren't even that bad. Maybe internal bleeding or concussion or poison. But he wasn't a medic. He had enough knowledge to deal with some surface injuries, but not ones he couldn't even see.

He quickly created a clone to bring her to the hospital. Then he turned to the last body, just as somebody else stepped on the scene. He turned his head to see one of his fellow Jonin. It was the sensei of Doto's team with blood on his flak jacket that didn't seem to be his own.

"We have a survivor?" he asked, obviously indicating the clone that must have passed him.

Sakumo nodded. Then he pointed to the two males he had checked already. "They are dead, I checked, and she…," he looked back down at the last body, then he stopped short.

He knew her. Light hair, almost as pale as that of her brothers, brown eyes. A Jonin and…Dan's sister. He quickly knelt down beside her, checking her pulse but there was nothing. He checked again to make sure, but she was dead. No pulse, no breath. He shook his head.

"That's…," muttered the other Jonin in recognition exactly at the same moment when Dan stepped on the scene. His clothes didn't have any blood or dirt on them, yet he looked a bit winded. It didn't surprise Sakumo to see him in such a pristine state. Dan used a very complicated Ninjutsu that allowed his soul to leave his body as some sort of chakra-entity. His own physical body was rarely involved in the fighting.

Both Sakumo and the other Jonin looked at the newcomer. Dan looked over one of the dead, then he hissed in surprise. "That's Tanaka," he declared at once, "he's…"

Of course, Dan would know the members of his sister's team. He looked up at the other dead, then at Sakumo who still knelt between Dan and his sister's corpse, so that Dan couldn't see her well.

"I'm…," Sakumo moved a bit to the side so that Dan could see his sister's face. "My sincere condolences," he offered because there wasn't much else to say.

As if Dan had been held back by invisible strings that were now cut, he suddenly lurched forward falling to his knees beside Sakumo who moved away quickly to makes space. He watched as Dan frantically checked his sister's pulse first at her neck, then at her wrists. He moved his hands over her face as if to wake her up from deep slumber, but of course, she wouldn't wake.

Sakumo had already checked her pulse, but he didn't say anything as Dan did it again. Behind Sakumo, the other Jonin picked up one of the corpses. He hesitated shortly, looking back to Sakumo and the grieving Dan and then left to carry the dead home. Sakumo contemplated taking the other body, but Dan's frantic and increasingly desperate cries made him stay.

"No…no, no, no," Dan muttered as he finally gave up trying to find life in his sister that wasn't there anymore. "You can't just die. What about…?" A visible shudder went through his body, as his hand balled into a fist on the dead woman's stomach. His head bowed. "What about Shizune?" he asked quietly, "she needs you, Neesan." It was a silent plea to the dead that went unanswered. "And Usagi…I have to tell Usagi." There was desperate helplessness in his voice.

What followed was a long moment of quiet. Dan was crying, that much Sakumo was sure of, but he did so silently. Sakumo felt as if he was intruding. This private moment wasn't meant for his eyes, he knew, but he didn't want to leave Dan alone with the dead.

They remained such for a long time. Then finally, Dan spoke up. "What about her team?" he asked with a desperate edge to his voice. He had seen Tanaka and the other man earlier. He must have seen that they were dead. "What about Yasui?" he added after another breath.

The other kunoichi's name. Sakumo hadn't remembered before. "She's alive. My clone carried her to the hospital." He was sure his clone must have reached it by now. Had the kunoichi died on the way, he would have popped, as soon as they arrived. The fact that the clone hadn't dissolved that at least meant that it was still giving information to the medics or waiting for news to share with its creator.

"Good," Dan nodded quietly and then again, "good. Usagi is…he should be somewhere here," he thought out loud. He sounded worried. Sakumo assumed with his older sister gone, the fear of losing his younger brother, too, was now very real to him.

"He's probably at the Intelligence Division," Sakumo informed him calmly, "I had him bring a captive there."

Dan nodded once again. When he stood up, he took the body with him, carrying it in his arms. Sakumo watched for a moment, then he carried the last remaining body towards Konoha.


End file.
